A Step into the Past
by Kingyo
Summary: Vongola Primo seeks the help of Tsuna when someone attempt to use a time machine to kill the Giotto of the Past. Tsuna have to travel back in time to prevent this or risk disappearing forever.
1. Chapter 1

**A Step into the Past**

**Chapter 1**

_He knew that he was in a dream. An elaborated, detailed and extremely life-like dream. But it was still a dream nonetheless._

_Yet as he watched the horrifying scene unfold in front of him, he could not bear longer._

_No. It was simply too grotesque for his liking and understanding._

_He lunged forward, screaming in terror whilst attempting to catch the falling figure from hitting the ground. But his attempt proved futile when his arms ghosted right through his ancestor. Watching the man crumple onto the vibrant, lush grass, his breath hitched. _

_He could only stare rooted on his spot, petrified he watched the blood spurting from the other's mouth, and was starting to form crimson pools on the grassy field._

_This was not meant to be this way! Why is this happening?_

_Tears of helplessness overwhelmed his senses and the unfortunate teen felt his knees give way, stumbling backwards. Dazed, he almost missed the muffled agonizing cries that came soon after, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps in a distance. _

"_Please… Come quickly…." He whimpered softy, but froze when the barely conscious man seemed to have heard his voice and looked directly at him._

_How was that possible?_

_"GIOTTO!" A man with crimson hair and a tattoo over the right side of his face burst out of a nearby bush and yelled in trepidation when his eyes met the sight of the bloodied, mutilated body of his boss. He desperately clawed the remaining between him and his friend. "OH FUCKING GOD! GIOTTO! HANG ON! DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON ME!"_

_The instant the man had shouted, Tsuna felt the scene in front of him fading. But, yet, the Vongola Primo's golden orbs were still remained locked on his. With his failing strength, the man reached out towards him._

"_I am so sorry Tsuna…" _

_Then, the scene turned into swirling vapors of mist._

* * *

"HHHIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!" A frightened scream tore though the Sawada residence as the future Vongola Decimo, Sawada Tsunayoshi, sat up abruptly on his bed, panting heavily with cold sweat trickling down his forehead. He looked around his room nervously as he desperately gulped down the cold, clear air to alleviate the remnants and affects of his nightmare.

Gripping the front of nightshirt, he shivered slightly before closing his eyes. Why did he have that dream? That had felt way _too_ real! As he recalled how his ancestor had looked at him with his eyes filled with sorrow and pain and he had called him by his name, he felt goose pimples all over his skin. Did the dream meant something? How was that even possible that that man knew his name? Had he missed some important fact? Was there a missing piece of puzzle he was lacking of?

He shook his head and sighed. He was just being silly.

"My imagination is running wild…" The brunet murmured, running his fingers though his messy brown hair. It was just a normal dream. He was no precognitive psychic. Why would this mean anything significant?

How could someone who had died about a hundred years ago suddenly know his name? He pointed out to himself skeptically. That is as unlikely as… Reborn being nice to him, Gokudera being polite, Bianichi cooking edible food, Ryohei being not "extreme"… and the list went on.

Yet, who could blame him? His life had been built on inconsistency of life and literally impossible stuff. Another voice reasoned inside him. Mafia, talking babies with guns, fire on his head… Yes! Fire on his head! Tell that to anyone and take a good look at his or her reaction!

Rubbing his temples, he finally made up his mind. He was simply thinking too much he decided. How could his life become any more complicated?

But apparently, this thought was jinxed.

For at that exact moment, fate had ultimately decided to prove him really wrong and cast aside his faith on it. The heavy ring that hung around his neck seemingly began to resonate with an eerie glow and cast long shadows in his dimly lit room.

"What's happening?" Tsuna asked, forehead creasing in confusion, as he pulled the blanket closer to his petite figure. The glowing ring had now become suspended in mid-air, only tied down by the chain. Hesitantly, he reached out to grab it.

Dying-will flames blazed out instantly, blinding the owner for seconds before fading into nothingness as it sat innocently in the middle of his palm as it nothing had happened. Blinking, he looked around the room and jumped in fright.

A shadow was starting to form an arm's length away from the terrified boy. And when the shadow began to take shape of a man, his eyes widened in recognition as a translucent figure slowly materialized in front of him.

"Vongola Primo?" The brunet squeaked staring at his ancestor, mouth gaping as his brain tried to process this information. What in the world was the Primo doing here?

The said man impassively observed his descendent for a moment, and then spoke.

"Did you see the dream?" Primo softly asked. His voice was deep and yet held a commanding presence in it.

The stunned boy froze as all the thoughts fled from him. This was definitely NOT happening.

"Tsunayoshi?" Giotto tried again.

Tsuna jumped at the voice before nodded tersely. His caramel eyes focused at the stoic man, carefully watching for the other's response.

"Did that actually happen…?" Tsuna blurted, his voice slightly shaking with anxiety before covered his mouth horror when he realized what he had done.

The older man tilted his head, contemplating carefully on how to answer the question. "What do you think?" He finally asked.

"I… don't know…?"

"Then it's possible that it will happen, though it should not have…" Giotto replied, his voice sounding all serious and grave.

Tsuna stared at the handsome blond in confusion, not understanding the meaning behind the words. If he does not know the answer, it may happen?

The man smiled at the baffled boy. "Nothing in this world is foreseeable. It would solely be dependant on one's action. Don't you think so?"

"Perhaps…" The brunet replied doubtfully. "What are you trying to imply?"

"To put this in simpler terms, I am in need your help. An enemy is using a time machine to return to the past in order to assassinate me and prevent the founding of the Vongola." Giotto said, his face returning to the ever-neutral expression.

"Assassination! Are you serious?" The teenager squealed in alarm.

Giotto arched an eyebrow at the reaction. "The Vongola do have numerous amounts of enemies. Assassination attempts are a norm in my life," The Vongola Primo coolly stated.

The poor boy could only quake in terror. This was certainly a part that he would never want to get involved in.

"If it had been a normal situation, I would not have seek the help of you and would have dispose of them myself."

Tusna gawked. Why was he referring to the assassins like a pile of rubbish to be thrown out of the house?

"However, if there is an assassination from the future, then the odds would differ. The technology of the past…it pales in comparison to the future technology. Also, the fighting strengths of the past technology cannot even be compared to the strengths and the capabilities of the future technology, as you have experienced first-handed. Therefore, I request that you to go into the past to prevent the Vongola massacre from occurring…" Giotto concluded his request solemnly.

Tsuna gasped in horror as the whole entire situation began to dawn on him. "NO! Wait a minute! I CAN'T DO IT! IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO HELP YOU! WHY IS IT ME?" He shrieked at the blond, trying in every possible way to make his great-great-great grandfather _understand_ that Tsuna was…well…No-good Tsuna…and No-good Tsuna wasn't capable of being the 'hero' in real life.

"This issue is stems from your generation, it also means it is your problem as well." The undeterred man pointed out.

"I… can't! I am too weak! I… just can't!" The boy protested fervently.

The Vongola Primo sighed and turned around so that the hysterical brunet could only see his cape. Disappointment seemed to seep out from him and a twang of guilt hit Tsuna. But, he couldn't do it! Seriously? He CAN'T!

"I will not force you to do this. However, do remember that your life and your friends' lives will be at stake too."

The browned haired boy blinked furiously. What did Don Primo mean? "Wha…what do you mean by that?"

"Do not regret your decision if you, your family and friends suddenly disappear. After all, my death would ultimately affect each generation after me. It is your choice..." Giotto replied.

Tsuna frowned and jumped off the bed. "I'd rather die before I would let my friends and family disappear and die! I may be No good-Tsuna…But I will _never_ let that happen."

"Then, do we have an understanding?"

Emotions conflicted within Tsuna, but the answer was obvious. With determination, brunet slipped his Sky Vongola ring on his finger and clenched his hand as the ring burst into flame. "Yes, so shall it be."

A small smiled graced the lips of the Vongola Primo. "I knew you would not let me down. Thank you, Vongola Decimo… Prepare yourself well…"

With that, light surrounding Don Primo faded, once again leaving the Vongola Decimo in the empty bedroom.

Left alone, the teen contemplated apprehensively over his decision. He could feel the urge to scream, to cry, and to act like a five-year-old with a temper tantrum like what he would have done prior to meeting Reborn.

But he would not do so. He had to become stronger. If it meant protecting his friends and family, he would do it. Even if this would cost him his life.

They could not disappear. Not especially because of his careless, irresponsible actions that have brought them into this mess. That should never happen - no, correct that. That _must_ never happen.

With that decision made, he stood up, slightly staggering. It was almost as if the weight he is feeling in his heart had transmitted into real life. It burden of the responsibility of all the lives he had cared about.

Slipping his ring back underneath his shirt, he stumbled down the narrow stairs to the kitchen with a heavy heart.

* * *

Voices and laughter filled the air as the children and adults settled down for the battle royale - breakfast. Tsuna slumped against the doorway and smiled weakly. This would be worth protecting; the laughter, the simple happiness, the normal lifestyle that had no ties whatsoever to the Mafia.

His eyes hunted for his target and settled on a certain infant hitman clothed in the usual, a black suit and an orange-striped fedora.

"Reborn."

The home tutor curiously looked up from the newspaper he was reading and took in Tsuna's unsettled expression.

"Mamma. I am going up to Tsuna's room and will not be joining you for breakfast after all."

Nana gave a little twirl and smiled. "Okay~! I just get you some coffee later!"

The baby nodded and without another word, he stood up and left the kitchen, signaling for his student to follow him back into the bedroom.

Once they were in the room, Reborn settled himself in his custom-made sofa and cross his leg.

"Shoot." He demanded.

Tsuna seated himself comfortably in front of the baby, took deep breath before narrating the situation to the infamous Mafioso. He was glad that Reborn did not interrupt him during his speech, for that made it easier for him to spill his thoughts and feelings about the crisis without hesitation. When he finished, he waited anxiously for the verdict and tried to read the Arcobaleno's expression. But as usual, the brunet failed miserably due to the fedora, which shadowed and concealed his eyes.

After a few nerve racking minutes, impatience overtook his sensibility. "Rebo…" His sentence was cut off with ferocious glare and he shut his globe instantly.

He bit his lips and waited. Finally Reborn nodded grimly at his incompetent student. "I understand. You'd be highly unlikely to receive any help in this mission. The risk of getting killed is dangerously high - not only that, but failure…its price and consequences would be immeasurable. I can only help you prepare, no-good Tsuna…The rest will up to you."

The last ray of hope in which the poor brunet had held in his heart had shattered into thousands of delicate shards. Somewhere in the corner of his mind, he had believed that his sadistic Spartan tutor could find a way to fish him out of this. But the false hope no longer held its claim and crestfallen boy could only stared at the wooden floorboard before he gently closed his eyes.

"I understand…" Tsuna's voice was barely audible.

The Sun Arcobaleno pulled his fedora down.

Tsuna need to learn to be more independent. He could not be there with the boy forever. But even if that was so, he felt it was still too early. His idiot student still-clearly had a long way to reach the point that Reborn could consider him prepared for anything. The Spartan Mafioso frowned. This crisis did not forebode well. But…still. All Reborn could do was pray that the teen would not break or fail this time.

* * *

**A/N**

Hi guys~! I am not too sure if this story will work out. So do give reviews and I would see if I am gonna continue this.

Yes, I am a G27 fan (and also a 1827, 182769, R27 and 7227), but i not sure if any romance will be in. Thanks for reading guys~!

Beta-ed by gracefulsunshine (She ROCKS! XD)

**Reedited as at April 17, 2011**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The fourteen-year-old teen smiled nervously at his mother, hoping that she would not see through his lie, though the brunet had to admit - he absolutely _sucked_ at lying. Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief when his mother happily slurped up his lies without any questions. However, at the same time, the teen felt a wave of disappointment coursing through him. He wished his mother would be more concerned over his wellbeing by _at least_ asking him on where he was camping. Nonetheless, it was her obliviousness that had assisted him into hiding the more shady part of his life from her.

He smiled when his mother handed him a number of medications for what she called "just-in-case scenarios", and shoved them into his nearly overflowing backpack. He had no idea what he would need and therefore had taken the liability to select quite a number of his possessions from clothes to dried food to his hyper dying will pills and even items such as a gun.

"You may need it." Was what his tutor had told simply him and any protests over the having such a dangerous weapon were slammed out of him when Reborn directed a tiny foot precisely onto his face.

Other than that, the hitman had also forcefully thrown what he claimed to be 'useless' out of the backpack while growling in exasperation at the dismayed boy. "Tsuna! Why do you need your I-pod and a tourist guide to Italy? You're not going to Italy for a vacation!"

The Mafioso glanced at Tsuna, and found his student directing a pout at him as he twiddled his thumbs.

"I have always wanted to see those places-"

The brunet immediately snapped his mouth shut when the baby hitman shot him an irritated glare.

When everything in the bag was to his satisfaction, Reborn turned towards his student.

"Have you told your guardians about this?"

The boy froze at the question and instantly gritted his teeth in anticipation of Reborn's reply to his answer. "No…"

"And why is that?"

"I don't want them to get hurt for me once again…" Tsuna murmured while shaking his head.

His tutor frowned. Although Reborn understood that his no-good student had a protective streak in him and it was this trait that actually makes him the leader, to feel responsible for the many injuries that his famiglia had sustained in previous battles was taking it a little too far. No matter what happens, it was still the teen's responsibility to at least _tell_ them where he was going - at least to ensure that his Guardians didn't tear up the whole place searching for their boss and friend.

That especially applies to the Storm guardian.

"I…will write them a letter…" Tsuna tried to negotiate with the Mafioso. "So…I really don't want them to know till I have gone…"

The Sun Arcobaleno stared at him and sighed. "It is not as if they would be able to follow you if they knew where you were going…"

"They… will try to stop me…"

"And will it?"

The boy shook his head. "No… But…"

"But you do not know how to convince them." His tutor continued for him.

He nodded vigorously and a flying book hit his head.

"OUCH! Why did you throw that book!"

"Because you are simply running away form you duty as the boss."

"I am NOT the boss!" The boy protested.

The other ignored him. "Be glad that there is hardly any time left. Therefore, just this _once_ will I allow you to do this."

The words were met with Tsuna's trademark, a bright, sparkly, and grateful smile. "Thank you!"

Reborn tilted his fedora to shadow his eyes.

_I am becoming too soft…_

"Time is almost up," He glanced sideways at the now trembling brunet, and rolled his eyes. "This is the last thing you'll need. Take it." He told him, tossing a small brown bag.

Tsuna caught the bag with difficultly, nearly dropping it twice due to the sheer weight. Carefully opening it with shaky fingers, he looked inside-and felt his jaw drop.

"…Gold?" He asked weakly.

"The current currency will not work." The other replied as he absentmindedly (or appeared to be absentminded) polished a gun.

The poor boy whimpered. "Gold…?"

"For buying some stuff. You may need it."

"But…_gold_?"

The baby hitman shot at Tsuna's foot, causing the poor boy to screech and jump in fright.

"What was that for?" The victim demanded, his fear forgotten.

"You were sounding like a demented parrot." Before Tsuna could think of a good retort, his Vongola ring began to glow. Color rushed from his face and he stumbled back, as he felt the last dregs of his tattered courage disappearing into nothingness.

As Tsuna felt himself falling, he squeezed his eyes shut. It took him a few seconds to realize that the fall was taking too long and gasped when he reopened his eyes. Colors swirled around him, dancing prettily in a firefly-esque way, in circles. He lifted a finger to touch the colors and the bright lights faded away.

Tsuna found himself screaming and falling over - _again_. This time, though, he was falling from a height little higher then he would prefer…

"HHHIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

* * *

Giotto ran after his friend as fast as his legs could carry him, but his instincts told him that would be virtually impossible to outrun the sheer number of guards that were after them. His muscles screamed in protest as he continued to push forward down the narrow alleyway.

"This way!" His red-haired friend yelled ahead of him while picking the lock of a door.

G. grinned when he heard an audible click and effortlessly swung the door open. "Ladies first!" he snickered as his blond friend ran past him, smacking his arm for his insult. G. slipped past the door and locked it before continued running after Giotto. If the circumstances weren't this bad, he would have loved to stay behind just to 'tease' the guards, who were currently banging their heads off on the wooden door.

Reaching the courtyard, the two teens scrambled up a deciduous tree to scale up the looming grey wall blocking their path of escape. With natural ease, they jumped off to the other side, effortlessly landing onto the ground like cats.

"Give up, you trash brats. You are trapped." A sneering voice catcalled to the two friends. They spun around, only to find themselves caught in a pincer move - both of the escape routes were blocked by hulking guards. Before they could react to the situation, a huge bulky guard trapped G., retaining the boy by pinning both arms to his sides.

"G!" His friend hysterically yelled, frozen at the sight of his friend being captured by the guard.

Giotto found himself surrounded by guards when he turned, attempting to save his friend. He reached out in vain just as one of the guards started to grab his shoulder.

"HHHIIIIIIIEEEEEEE~~~"

Everyone blinked in confusion and looked around. No one was screaming.

"~~~EEEEEEE!" A brunet landed-backpack first-onto the unfortunate guard who was about to grab Giotto. The baffled crowd looked at the open clear sky and then again at the teen, who was now whimpering in pain from the impact of crash landing onto the guard's head.

Making use of the distraction, the red-haired captive slammed the back of his head into the face of his captor. The man gasped in pain and clutched his bleeding nose, trying (with no avail) to stem the flow of blood.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I only like it when girls give me a hug!" He joked before delivering a final kick to the man's groin.

"Omph~!" The man went down soundlessly and turned towards his friend.

"RUN!" He shouted, frantically signaling to Giotto to run for their lives.

Snapping out of his daze, the blond grabbed his savior's arm and pulled him up, before running - with Tsuna in tow - after G, who was already down the passageway. As made a dash for it, he passed by random poles and crates at the side of the route, which he continuously threw them backwards, effectively reducing the number of pursuers.

They scampered down many streets with a dozen of guards tailing behind them and without them noticing, the trio finally slipped into an inn near the outskirts of town. By that time, they were out of breath.

The inn was filled with people. _Dangerous_, scary looking people, in Tsuna's point of view. There were people brawling, drinking, yelling…and the patrons all seemed to have various assortments of weapons.

_Very__ dangerous…_The brunet, out of instinct, inched away from the crowd and stepped closer to Giotto, who continued to drag the boy through the never-ending crowd. A few women, whom he believed to be prostitutes, winked at the small group and specifically beckoned to him. He blushed and stared at the ground whereas his protector seemed to have to qualms about flirting with them.

_What am I doing here? _Here_, of all places? And where am I?_

"Wats'up Boss?" A man with a scar across his right cheek grinned at the three huffing teens asked in Italian.

G smiled lazily in return and gave a wave of his hand. "A bunch of those hooligans guards were after us. Rid em' fer me, will yer?"

The room roared with laughter. Tsuna flinched at the noise, and retreated even further behind his hiding spot. The blond reassuringly smiled at the brunet, indicating that there was no danger. The teen's eyes widened, finally catching a glimpse of the blonde's face.

"Primo…" Tsuna whispered.

Giotto blinked when he realized the boy had spoke in Japanese…but an extremely excited crowd drowned out his words before he could ask anything regarding to the boy.

"What did yer do now?" A lanky man laughed while juggling daggers single-handedly. "Dunk another noble brat into the sea again?"

The crowd burst into raucous cheers. "Personal business," G snickered, weaving though the crowd to his destination - the stairs just behind the counter. "Just rid em' nice and clean, will yer?"

"Anything for yer, Lorddie! I was looking fer some bashing to do anyways!" The huge man replied with a frightening evil glint in his eyes. G waved a hand of dismissal and with that, half of the patrons stampeded their way through the door to await their nighttime amusement.

Giotto tapped on the brunet, who was hanging on to his dress shirt for dear life, and pointed at the stairs. The boy nodded tearfully and followed him up the steps into one of the small rooms located of the second floor. G was already inside, comfortably sprawled on his bed. He looked up at the noise and frowned at his friend.

"You haven't gotten rid of your luggage yet?" G. asked, pointing at the boy who still clung on to his friend. Giotto raised an eyebrow and patted the boy's head. "I couldn't possibly leave him at the guards' mercy. You know what they are like."

G sat up on the bed irritatedly. "You do understand that you are not in a situation to keep that boy-if I had not saved you today, you would have been caught!"

Tsuna looked at the peeved man and fidgeted nervously. _What was the man saying? Italian? They seemed to be talking really seriously about something._ He confusedly peeked at Giotto's face. _Was it his imagination… or does Primo look…smaller…shorter to be exact... _Then, he heard his ancestor sigh.

Giotto turned to the boy and told him kindly in Japanese. "Hey, kid…don't worry. I'll take you back where you come from..."

"No!" Tsuna squeal in alarm. "Don't take me back there! I... don't know where I am and I don't know what everyone is saying!" He looked at the blonde with teary eyes. "Please don't leave me alone…"

Giotto took a step back and blinked. For a second, he almost thought that the boy had droopy dog ears and a tail. Unable to stop himself, the teen threw his arms around the boy and patted his fluffy mass of hair. "I won't leave you!"

"_GIO!_" His best friend growled at him.

Giotto looked at him with his own pleading, puppy-dog eyes. "I will feed him, wash him and take care of him! Please?"

G looked extremely horrified…and then finally snapped at his blonde friend. "FOR GOD'S SAKE! HE IS NOT A FREAKING _PET_!"

* * *

**A/N**

Thank you! Thank you so much my dear reviewers! As thanks, I present this chapter and hope you will like it!

Gives and onigiri to all reviewers.

I have read though my chapter so just tell me if I made any mistakes. Thanks Guys~! Oh and do review! They make my day!

Opps I forgot to mention. I had a few concepts and jokes from a doujin I saw... I hope you guys do not mind.

Beta-ed by gracefulsunshine (Thank her too!)

**Reedited as at April 17, 2011**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

G. wasn't a happy man. He stared at his friend with distaste as the blonde teen pampered his newly found 'little brother' with an unnecessary amount of attention and food. He had no idea how that naive little brat had survived in such a chaotic era without even knowing _one_ fact about the general Italian culture. Giotto should have known better than to incur an extra burden with the situation at its present state.

Still, perhaps this was just his way to escape their cruel fate – even for only a brief moment. After all, it had almost been two years since that 'incident'.

_We've come a long way from the time since we had started this journey_, G. mused, fingering a long scar that ran from the back of his hand to his elbow. Those people would pay…that was what both of them had sworn a long time ago. The sacrifices they would have to make, the price they would have to pay, would be worth it – regardless of the repercussions.

"Where are you from? Why are you here?" Giotto asked his charge eagerly. The boy looked surprised for a second, and then his shoulders slumped and started chewing on the tip of his thumb. Giotto leaned forward and studied the boy's reaction curiously.

_How am I going to tell them?_ Tsuna wailed hysterically in his head. _I can't tell them who I really am – they would never believe me!_

"I…I am from…Japan…" He murmured softly, refusing to meet the eyes of both teens.

"And why are you here?" G. demanded sharply in Japanese, skeptical at this evasive answer. His query reduced the frightened boy that was huddled in the corner of the room into a quivering bundle of mass. The reaction heightened his suspicions.

The red haired teen frowned and growled at the figure. "Did THEY send you? Are you their spy?" He furiously spat the last word out like a curse, and then stalked across the room with only one thought: _grab that boy – no, spy – and kick him out of this room_.

And he had every intention of doing that.

His friend grabbed his sleeve to stop him, but he only slapped it away. "Let me just throw him to my men – that would deal with it! …Or have you forgotten what THEY had caused? What THEY did to our lives? What THEY_ did _to this_ town?_" He snarled with anger, unintentionally slipping back to Italian to emphasize his point.

Giotto's brows snapped together, his face twisting into a gruesome mask of cold rage. "How dare you even say that I would forget about that? How dare you even _suggest_ it?" He hissed as he punched the wall with his bare fist, creating a huge dent with cracks leading off from the epicenter.

As G. and Giotto glared daggers at each other, Tsuna, leaning against one of the walls, shrank even further – wishing he could blend into wall. He had no idea what they were saying, but it took no genius to understand that _he_ was part of the reason of this tense, uncomfortable atmosphere.

With tears in his eyes, he tried to stop them, but the words seemed to have jammed themselves painfully in his throat – the only sound that came out was a pathetic, pitiful sniffle.

The blond teen finally took a deep breath and controlled his anger. He sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "You are too worked up, my friend. If you were calm enough, like you usually are, even the dumbest person would be able to see the fallacies in your argument. This boy, a _spy_? I think that using a street rat [1] would be more reliable. Ever since the small reoccurrence of the Black Death [2], there had been so many homeless people who would be able to…well, at least speak in Italian. I also doubt that _they_ would use such…" He examined the boy up and down with a quirked smile. "Unusual…apparel…as… disguise…"

"Weird and suspicious, you mean," G. muttered, feeling a bit sullen now for being too paranoid and to have missed such an obvious fact. "Sorry about that. I got carried away…"

Giotto faintly smiled at his friend's honesty. "No problem, G."

"But it still doesn't mean anything. We still don't know where the brat is from. He is hiding something…" The red head told him with a slight shake of his head. Giotto closed his eyes and grimaced. Taking three huge strides, he stopped in front of the trembling boy. Slowly, so as not to startle him, he kneeled in front of him and patted his head.

"Tsuna, I need you to tell me why you are here. Or else, this evil man…" He jerked his thumb backwards at the grumbling G. ('_How did I become evil?_'). "May throw you out…You would not want that, would you?"

Giotto was pleased when the brunet shook his head furiously. The boy sniffled and looked at him for a moment, then murmured his answer. It was spoken so softly that Giotto nearly missed it.

Giotto blinked, surprised, then burst out chuckling. He roared in laughter, tears in his eyes.

G. stared at his friend in horror. _Had he finally gone mad?_

"What did he say?" He hesitantly asked the hysterical man, uncertain if he was…_sane_.

"He… He said…" The blond rubbed tears from his eyes. "…That he was…sent…to…to…_PROTECT_ ME!" Unable to contain himself any longer, the teen burst into another bout of laughter-G. joined him in laughing like maniacs after a couple seconds.

Tsuna blushed and pouted as he watched the two…insane men laugh and roll on the floor. He felt a stab on his pride and was half tempted to give a piece of his mind. _I could really learn to hate these guys…_

"Hm…Forget that I asked…" Giotto snorted, his eyes dancing with mirth. "I don't think I can take another round of that…"

G. nodded with agreement as he held on to his friend's shoulder, gasping for breath. "I didn't know you had such a great sense of humor…"

Stab! There goes another knife into his pride. The brunet indignantly grumbled at that.

"Oh, yeah…talking about that, what did you called me when we were down at the inn?" Giotto inquired, eyes bright with curiosity.

Tsuna tilted his head questioningly. "'Vongola Primo?'"

"Clam?" G. chuckled, amused at the brunet's answer. "You are indeed an amusing person!"

Giotto frowned and asked sulkily, "And why am I the first of _clams_?"

The surprised boy looked at them in confusion.

_Did I get the wrong person?_

_No. It is definitely him. And the 1__st__ Storm guardian. Then… why…? _Tsuna pondered.

The answer suddenly dawned onto him and he finally understood why they didn't know about this. He kicked himself internally. Of course! Vongola famiglia had not been formed yet!

Looking up, he realized both the men were looking at him expectantly for an answer.

"I…er…I…I thought you were a protective person…like a clam! …And you were the first person to protect me." Tsuna stuttered the first reason that came in his mind. He mentally slapped himself.

_Oh, my, god-that is the lamest reason I have ever heard…If Reborn heard that, he would definitely kill me._

"Protect…hmm…" The other mused. "Interesting…"

His descendent stared at him, appalled. _This guy is actually buying my ridiculous excuse!_

Never did he realize, he had played a major role in the naming of the top criminal syndicate in history.

* * *

"Let us formally re-introduce ourselves. We seem to have skipped that part, yes?" Giotto asked good-naturedly. Without waiting for the others to respond, he began. "I am Giotto. Sixteen. I…was from a merchant family."

Tsuna noticed he said 'was', but did not voice that – and his suspicions.

"Only you would bother suggest formally introducing yourself, Gio." G. muttered, rolling his eyes. Nonetheless, he grinned at the newcomer. "My alias is G. That's all you need to know and call me. Age, unknown. The average town boy, at your service."

"Average?" His friend snorted. "Define average."

G. glowered at him. "Shut it!"

"I'm Tsunayoshi…people call me Tsuna. Erm…I am fourteen. That's all," Tsuna murmured. The two men nodded, despite the obvious lack of information.

"Alright! First things first!" G. declared suddenly in a business-esque way, clapping his hands to emphasize his point. "I will warn you. Staying with us will be very dangerous-the things we do may not often…go wayward with the laws. Therefore, we may occasionally get into… a tiny bit trouble. If you get what I mean…" The brunet nodded. That did not surprise him.

"Are you sure you still want to join us? I mean…You look really…innocent…" G. commented, looking apprehensively at him.

Once again, Tsuna nodded. It wasn't as if he had a choice.

G. raised an eyebrow, but continued. "Well…in that case, you must at least know how to protect yourself and oh – do us a favor by learning Italian. We will not hesitate to ditch you if you ever hinder us or become a nuisance…"

Giotto leaned against the wall and silently listened to the conversation. He crossed his arms and pondered.

_What if the info that kid had told him was real?_

…_No, that would be impossible!_

_Then again, he did not seem as if he was lying._

"If he wasn't lying," the blond grimaced. "I am going to have more trouble than what I bargained for…"

"…One last thing." G. flippantly tossed the boy a wooden slate. "If you ever need help…seek the people who have a sliver ring on their right ear. Show them this and they will help you. Do not go to those bloody constables…I repeat. _Do not go to the constables._" He emphasized the last part.

The teen looked at him in confusion. "Why? And who are these people with silver rings pierced on their right ears?"

"Those bastard constables are _corrupted_. They would sell their country and fellow citizens for _any_ amount of gold." G. spat, his words spiked with abhorrence. "As for the people with the sliver rings, they work for me."

"They work for you?" Tsuna asked in awe. "Really…who ARE you?"

G. gave a sadistic grin (which was very…Reborn-esque). "Let me just say that I am the mastermind behind many…operations…and those dogs would love to get their filthy paws on me…"

"He is known as the thief lord by most." Giotto simply said, allowing an evil smirk to grace his face.

Feeling faint, the brunet slumped onto the ground, much to the amusement of his newly found friends.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

[1] Street Rat: Not literally Rats. Slang for Homeless People living in the Streets

[2] Black Death: One of the Deadliest Pandemics between 1348-1350. I think this would be about Giotto's parent's period. Not too sure. /:

* * *

**A/N:**

Thank _**Gracefulsunshine **__for beta-ing._

**Reedited as at April 17, 2011**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_In the bloody decades of Italy, where the Black Death had consumed the lives of numerous nobles and citizen alike, the country had fallen into chaos. Her government had fell into the open arms of corruption; the nobles had long forgone their duties or obligations to retain the luxuries they had. But yet, the heavens had not been kind to the suffering of the people. Again and again, the pandemic emerged taking along many innocents with it. Now, the once majestic country reeked of death and was rotting from the inside._

Down in the small port of Piedmont, a blond man strolled along the empty streets, using his peripheral vision to glance at the roofs and dark alleyways. His fingers twitched, itching to grab one of his hidden knifes when he heard the soft rustling of clothes and shuffling of shoes against the ground._ Three…no, four_. He guessed, straining his ears, while he continued to feign ignorance and strode onwards, humming softly to himself.

He was glad that his guest had fallen asleep, exhausted after an intensive lesson on the basics of Italian. He felt himself smiling fondly whenever he thought about the brunet. That boy had reminded him of his little sister, and it made him want to protect the teen. His cheerful mood evaporated at that thought. His poor sister…whom he had failed to protect…

His footsteps finally slowed to a halt as he emerged in an opened area. Now, they would not be able to jump him [1] from the any blind spots. Turning back to face his group of stalkers, he causally removed his hands from his pockets.

_Amateurs_, the blonde teen disdainfully thought as he watched two men stepping out from the shadows. One of them was incessantly tossing a knife from one hand to the other, pretending to be tough, while the other was openly shaking slightly, gripping a rusty rake with both hands.

Giotto felt a little sympathy for them. Just a little. Judging from their looks, it was likely they had not had any decent meals for days and had finally resorted to robbing. He would go easy on them, he told himself ruefully.

When the first robber received no reaction from his prospective victim (He had expected at least a scream or some makeshift attempt in running away-the usual cliché actions.), he could not help but feel irritated-the victim was displaying such a nonchalant attitude, even though he was outnumbered. That blonde man was taunting him! With a growl, he lunged at his victim, attempting to thrust his knife towards the blonde's chest.

The said victim sighed and effortlessly avoided it, and faintly smiled. _Just as I thought-none of these men are seasoned fighters._ His instincts warned him of the danger before he saw his other attacker. His body snapped a sidekick at the coward who attempted to use the opportunity to sneak up on him. With a groan, the smaller man's rake clattered onto the ground, away from him, and he himself tripped and fell onto the dirt-covered street.

At this moment, the first robber recovered from his surprise and lashed out again. Without stopping a second from his previous attack, Giotto stepped in calmly and disarmed the man by rapping on his wrist hard. He hooked the confused man's leg and yanked his feet from under him. The knife man felt all the wind knocked out of his lungs as he landed on his back hard. Dazed, he stayed there, staring stupidly at the numerous stars above.

_That was a little too easy._ Giotto thought, dusting his hands together. He paused and turned back to look at the path he had came from. _Where were the other two?_ He could not longer sense them. His face confronted into a frown for a moment, then he shrugged lightly.

Perhaps they had lost their courage after watching their comrades getting pummeled…or perhaps he was getting a little _too_ hypothetical.

He chuckled as he stepped over the unconscious robber who was lying by his foot, and walked back to the inn.

_G.'s paranoia must have rubbed off on me._

Up on the rooftops, a certain orange-eyed boy watched silently as his ancestor left the area. Behind him, two unconscious men were piled in a heap with their weapons seemly had melted into unidentifiable lumps of metal. Flames flickered on his forehead and hands when the cold wind blew across the town.

"That was really close." He murmured to the air. He had accidently fallen asleep after the uncountable number of Italian phrases were cramped into his brain and had woken up to find himself alone. Practically jumping out of the inn's window, he had stumbled across two robbers who were discussing how to kill the blond man walking alone in the streets.

It had been pure luck that he had managed to pop one of the cyan [2] pills that Basil had given him while running away. Well actually, he had dropped the pill, slipped on his own foot and this had been followed by falling face first onto the pill, all in one single instant. Swallowing (Or choking on) the pill, he had then used his hyper dying will to take both of these men down.

Tsuna exhale a sigh of relief. That had been scary in many senses. What if those people from the future had taken this opportunity – when he was slumbering – to attack? Giotto would be defenseless in the face of the box weapons, and be in a situation almost similar to standing in a blizzard naked! He frowned. He seriously had to be more careful about this.

Lifting one of his lit gloves, he increased the flare experimentally before thrusting his palms behind him and propelling into the night sky. For now, he needed to get back before Giotto does. It would be really hard to explain the whole situation to those two.

The lesser they know about him, the better it would be.

* * *

"Tsuna!" A rough hand shook his shoulder. "Wake up!"

The teen grumbled in his sleep and curled up into a ball. "Five more minutes, mom." He muttered, unconsciously rolling away from G.

G glared at the half-asleep boy. _Did he even _look_ like his mother?_ The red-haired teen kicked the bed hard, deciding to vent his irritation on the mattress (poor bed…G. must have hurt its feelings). The brunet immediately jumped out of his bed in alarm and wildly looked around the room.

"Who's attacking us!" He shrieked in fear, with one hand feeling for his pills in his back pocket.

The red-haired man rolled his eyes and covered his ears. _His voice is really high pitched…_ "Get your butt downstairs. How much sleep do you really need?"

"Oh…" Tsuna blushed as the-disturber-of-his-sleep stormed out of the room. He rubbed his heavy-lidded eyes, feeling the effects of last night's adventure taking toil on his body. He was exhausted; he had barely slept when he had returned to the inn, for fear someone would attack Giotto _again_.

Tsuna trembled as he splashing the cold water on his face. If he had failed yesterday, his friends and family would have all been endangered.

He squeezed his eyes shut. "I cannot be careless, I cannot fail…" He repeatedly chanted the mantra-esque words as he held on to the rim of the huge bucket with a death-like grip.

"'_You cannot fail_'? What do you mean?" A voice behind him asked curiously; he instantly froze. The brunet stumbled when he tried to spin around and see who had snuck up behind him, causing him to nearly fall into the water container. But before he hit the water surface, he felt someone grab his shirt collar and unceremoniously yank him back. The brunet landed on his butt with a thump. He grimaced in pain and rubbed his sore spot before looking up to see a highly amused Giotto grinning at him.

"You're such a klutz, right?" Giotto teased the younger boy, and watched as the boy blushed, scrambled to his feet, and then bowed his thanks. Ruffling Tsuna's hair fondly, he led him down the stairs to get some food.

Once settled on a table, Giotto waved and yelled at a passing waitress. "The usual please, with an extra for our guest!" The waitress winked and blew a kiss in response before hurrying back to the kitchen.

"It took you guys long enough!" G grumbled as he appeared out of nowhere and settled himself comfortably in an available chair.

Giotto sniggered. "Someone wanted to take a bath with his clothes on."

His friend looked at blushing Tsuna and a _giggling _(in his opinion) Giotto incredulously. Was that an inside joke he did not know about? The mystified red head frowned decided to ignore that.

After a filling meal, the trio decided to take a walk around the town. The two teens - who knew the whole area on the back of their hands - had to laugh at Tsuna's expression throughout the trip.

The whole place had looked so different from yesterday. It could not be helped when the-boy-from-the-future had never seen how markets or the bustling lives of people from the 14th century worked. He squeaked every time a horse cart came near his vicinity, gasped when he saw the numerous ships by the harbor, and stared wistfully at a couple of beautiful jewelry that he believed his mother and crush would love…

It was only when he was nearly washed away by the unrelenting waves of crowd, Giotto dragged him back forcefully. "Those stuff are overpriced, country boy!"

"But…" The boy protested.

G tsked at him. "Do you even have money?"

The small teen pulled out the brown bag that his tutor had given him triumphantly and waved it in front of the other's face. G took it and peeked at the contents in surprise.

"Where did you get this from?" Giotto asked, taking his turn to look into the bag. He thought for a second then scowled. "You didn't steal it did you?"

Tsuna stared at the blond horrified. "NO! I would never do that!" The duo looked suspiciously at Tsuna who fervently tried to explain himself. "Rebo… I mean my tutor… gave it to me when I left home!"

G lifted a brow and wagged a finger as he propped a hand up his hips. "And why would a tutor, of all people, give you gold?"

Tsuna looked around desperately for help – obviously none came. How was he supposed to explain that without blowing his own cover?

Giotto looked at him grimly. "I know that it is really hard to get a job… But stealing? I expected more than that from you." The brunet spluttered at the accusation but was unable to say anything in return.

The older teens mistook his hesitation as a confirmation of their doubts. Giotto sighed. "Here's a piece of useful information. If the guards catch you committing an act of stealing or robbing, they will cut off your right hand. If you lie to attempt to cover up your actions, they turn you into a eunuch, to put it in the bluntest way possible."

The small boy looked terrified at the new information and shook his head furiously.

The blond leaned forward so that his sky blue eyes met the brown orbs. Holding the younger boy's cheeks with both hands, he told him sternly. "We will close an eye this time. But promise me, you will not do it again."

Despite himself, Tsuna felt his head nodding without his consent. Giotto removed his hands and stood up, pleased with his answer.

With that conversation done, they continued to elbow their way though the morning crowd.

"Well, at least we know how you had survived on the street…" G commented, putting both hands behind his head and whistling out loud. (_A very Yamamoto-ish action_, Tsuna observed. _But his attitude is definitely more similar to Gokudera's._) "I was really starting to think you were some sort of trap again… Being too… Perfectly innocent and naive…"

Tsuna trudged behind him in resignation.

No one was going to listen to him even if he tried to explain.

"Speaking of which, can you fight?" G asked curiously, looking at the petite boy.

"I can…" Tsuna replied softly, his eyes downcast. "But… I hate it."

Giotto nodded in understanding but his friend prompted on. "…and killed?"

Blood rushed from the young teenager's face and he felt his stomach retching. He tried to avoid thinking about it, but the nightmares had haunted him time and time again. The ghostly face of his white-haired-nemesis, Byakuran, had refused to stop harassing him even after his incineration. Feeling sick, Tsuna leaned against the wall to support himself.

"Tsuna!" Giotto yelled, alarmed at the sudden change. He hurried forward and attempted to hoist the boy upright. "Are you alright?"

The pale boy weakly nodded.

"...I presumed you had." G stated indifferently.

"G.,stop it! Can't you see he isn't feeling too well?" The blonde teen shouted at his apathetic friend, trying to get him to understand the situation he had forced the young brunet into.

"No, Giotto. I believe we have a right to know." The red head said firmly.

Giotto looked uncomfortable. "But…"

"We need to know this if we're supposed look after him."

"I…" The boy in question croaked, getting their attention. He closed his eyes and continued. "I…have…eradicated…someone," He shakily admitted as his mind started replaying the horrifying events that had led up to him taking his first life. "He…was going to murder me…and destroy…not only my future… But…also my friends'…and…and m-my family's…He…he…"

A comforting hand on his shoulder interrupted him.

"That's enough." Giotto said gently. "That's enough." G nodded silently in agreement.

"But…but…he killed…" Tsuna felt a flood of hot tears stream down his face, and stopped trying to say anything else.

Giotto pulled him into a tight embrace. "It's fine…you've already defeated him…and everything pertaining to that is over."

That was all he needed to hear. The tensions, fears and confusions that had been unconsciously locked inside the small teen were all released as the brunet uncontrollably wept in the arms of his ancestor. It was over.

The nightmare was over.

* * *

[1] Street Rat: Not literally Rats. Slang for Homeless People living in the Streets

[2] Black Death: One of the Deadliest Pandemics between 1348-1350. I think this would be about Giotto's parent's period. Not too sure. /:

* * *

**A/N:**

Thank _**Gracefulsunshine **__for beta-ing._

**Reedited as at April 17, 2011**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**

* * *

**

**A/N:**

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TSUNA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBORN!

As mentioned before, I am not a constant updater - I have a life as well (Well, I least I think that I do... Sweat... DO I?). Thanks to the many Reviews and Fav~!

Beta-ed by Gracefulsunshine.

* * *

Tsuna leaned listlessly against the creaking, antique bed frame. The conversation earlier in the day still incessantly replayed itself in his mind; the embarrassment of losing control of his emotions was the exact reasons why he was not exactly helping him sleep. The teen's muscles subtly tensed when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps in front of his door. He could see an outline of a shadow in the gap under the door, and instinctively fidgeted in anticipation.

When the rusty hinges screeched their complaints as the door was push opened, Tsuna saw his roommate silently slip through the opening and close the door.

It took a moment before the blonde teen's eyes finished adjusting to the dark.

"You should have been asleep by now; go to bed, Tsuna." He sighed exasperatedly. Despite his words, Giotto settled himself on the edge of the brunette's bed and patted the space beside him, beckoning the brunette to sit next to him. The boy obediently scooted forward and sat next to his ancestor.

No words were spoken for a period of time; the gentle, pearly rays of moonlight shining through the windows seemed to prolong the comfortable silence that they themselves had created.

"Tsuna-what's wrong?" Giotto finally asked, breaking the silence. His usual playful and confident voice slightly wavered at the hesitant teen's expression. His instincts were literally screaming at him the fact that boy wanted to talk about a certain topic that he knew the brunette wanted to know…and that he was unsure if he should even ask it.

"Have you…" Tsuna began, nervously biting his lip.

_**Do I have a right to know?**_

"…killed as well?"

Giotto grimaced, mentally banging his head on an imaginary concrete wall.

_**I knew it.**_He paused, wondering if he should just tell the teen everything.

_**The whole truth? Or just the minor details?**_

He glanced at Tsuna's earnest face; it was one that hoped to receive affirmation that the choice he made was right, and the genuine expression of the _'please-tell-me-and-I'll-be-good-look'_, and sighed in resignation.

"Yes, I have killed – I've had to kill many people," Giotto told Tsuna in detached tone, effectively masking his emotions. "It's going to take a while to tell you the whole story…"

The blond looked at the undeterred boy, who was nodding his head off. _**I really cannot bring myself to say no after all...**_Smiling bitterly, he continued. "The first time was when my mother, sister and I were attacked as we were going to the town marketplace. I fought them for some time before any help came. I…I stabbed one man through his eyes in desperation…He died of shock and blood loss after the fight. I was twelve."

His roommate shuddered at the vivid imagery. Giotto nodded in agreement. "I know…I threw up for days after that," the blonde teen confessed with a crooked smile. "And I was naive to think that I would never kill again."

Giotto visibly struggled with his inner self for a few moments before continuing again. "The second time…was when I killed five men. Unlike the first time, this was intentional." Tsuna eyes widened in horror, but the other kept going on. "It started when…"

* * *

_A fourteen-year-old Giotto ran after his best friend, laughing at the havoc they created in the market. It had been G's idea to tie a rope between the table leg of that spiteful fruit seller's store and a bull-cart. The red-head had then frightened the bull, causing the poor cow to bolt down the streets, full speed, with the table dragged in tow. Enraged, the man had ran after his wares, fuming, as the homeless street rats scrambled to take as many of the dropped fruit as they could, before making their get-away._

_"Served him right!" The crowd whispered, amusement and contempt echoing in every voice. The obese, nosy man was known to abuse his wife and children; he also had cheated unsuspecting customers whenever the opportunity arose._

_The two boys raced down the street, feeling the exhilaration and adrenaline of their success, as they nimbly darted around the crowd before slipping into an alleyway near the Giotto's house. This was their achievement of the week. This was their world, their town, their delight. Ever since they could remember, they had always engaged a deadly warfare with rules adults had set; it was a thrill and sport they enjoyed, and they would go against it in everyway they could. It was their hobby…and they had won this time._

_Stumbling through many streets later, they finally reached their destination. As they entered though the back gates of the mansion, Giotto paused in confusion at a growing sense of unease that was building at an abnormal rate._

_His instincts were screaming at him. His nose sensed a tang of metal, accompanied by a gritty and heavy smell in the air. Then, he observed the white powdery substance that had settled on his surroundings. A shiver went down his spine to his very core as the implication hit him, hard._

_"Gio?" His companion, just a couple steps ahead of him, turned around and gave him a questioning look._

_"We…we have to get out of here…" He whispered urgently, shock laced in his words as he started to understand what was going on._

_G took a swift step forward in confusion. He did not notice anything amiss._

_"We have to go… NOW!" The blond yelled in horror and grabbed his friend before dashing desperately out where they had came from. As G stumbled after the panicking Giotto while trying to regain his balance, an explosion tore through the air, throwing the two teens hard against the bricked wall._

_Giotto felt his consciousness flicker like a dying firefly's light. His head was throbbing at the impact._

_**What had just happened?**_

_He felt his vision slowly starting to stabilize and wished it had not._

_What had been was his garden was reduced to a collection of debris of flaming, charred wood, and ashes. Tears of pain and confusion trickled down his face, leaving a path on his sooty cheeks._

_"Mom… Dad…?" The sickened boy cried out in alarm. "…Mel!"_

_Before the boy realized what he was doing, he had placed a foot in front of the other again and again, running back to the main house as fast as he could. He could only pray fervently for his family's safety as he ran as fast his legs would allow him._

…

_G groaned as his eyes slowly opened. "What the **** was that!" He cussed as his eyes took in the scenery and the disappearing back of his friend._

_"Giotto!" He yelled, coughing as his pushed himself up. "Stop!" Attempting to go after the blond, he felt his left leg nearly give away._

_**This is just great…a sprained ankle…**_

_Winching with every step, he limped back to the burning house and collided into the wooden doorframe. "You better stay safe…" He murmured into the dusty air._

…

_Giotto did not stop when the stairs behind him collapsed, nearly taking him along with it. He ignored the ardent sensation of the numerous cuts and bruises as well as the reek of wood and bodies being turned into ashes. The blonde clawed his way though the fire, his mind solely remained on reaching the oak door located at the turn of the corridor._

_"MEL! Are you alright?" The boy desperately called out, feeling his fear eating at him, as he slammed the door ajar. He gasped when the sweet, yet sick, reek of blood reached his sensitive nose. His eyes fell on the appalling telltale bloodstains that literally screamed the last moments of its' owner in the small cot and he lunged at it, shrieking his sister's name; only to stumble on something warm._

_Giotto clambered back in horror when he saw what the body actually was. "MOM!" He threw himself over his mother's body, sobbing on the dress decorated with red splatters of blood._

_**Why was this happening? What was happening?**_

_"Wake up…please…just wake up…" He half pleaded, half demanded, crying as he shook the lifeless corpse. "Please…don't leave me alone…"_

_Despite his pleas, he knew it was futile. She...both of them. There was simply too much blood. He felt his inner world began to collapse, brutally slaughtering the once naïve and carefree life he had once held dear._

…

_That was how his best friend found him._

_When G had arrived at the room, the blond was sitting in the middle of the room with a dazed look. "Gio?" The teen asked hesitantly as he looked at the fallen bodies of his friend's family. He felt his heart go out to his friend; he knew that Giotto loved his family – especially his younger sister. "We need to get out…"_

_Receiving no reply, he hobbled towards the blond and gave he placed a hand on his shoulder before giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Come on…" He told Giotto softy as he pulled him up. His friend made no movements to resist – or even acknowledge the presence of his friend in the room. He allowed the red-head to lead him out to the hallway._

_"My, my…what have we here?" A voice dripping with cruelty asked, causing the boys to freeze. G spun around, only to meet the gaze of a man nonchalantly carrying a huge axe over his shoulder._

_The man sneered at them. "We missed two little brats…" Sadist laughter filled the corridor as the five other men behind him cheered at finding more potential victims to torture and eventually kill._

_G. felt anger like nothing he ever felt before. He knew that these were the culprits that had destroyed his friend's future, life as they knew it, and family. These were the people who killed the only adults who had taken in a homeless street kid like him. They were the ones who killed Cook Jeff, Nanny and even that annoying brat Roxy._

_He had made a slight detour before he entered the nursery. The kitchen and servants' quarter was demolished; only the charred infrastructure had evidence that indicated the general area of where they used to be. Nothing could have survived that._

_Forgetting his friend and his injured ankle, he grabbed a large hunk of splintered wood and slashed out in fury. Giotto abruptly fell at the sudden disappearance of his support. However, he did not react, even though he had scraped his already bloody hands._

_Instead, what yanked him out of his daze was G's pain-filled scream._

_Looking up made him completely lose it – his friend was cradling a bloody hand as he screamed vulgarities at a bunch of men mocking at him, while kicking and biting whenever the chance arose. In spite of the strong front G was putting, pain was firmly etched on his face, and cold sweat ran continuously down his pale face._

_**No… I don't want to lose anyone anymore. I need to protect him. **__Was the only thought that surfaced in Giotto's brain, as the scene carved itself into his mind. He felt a burning sensation from within, which was entwined with a surge of energy he never knew he had. It was as if a fire had been born within him – that was the only way he could describe it after the incident – and he threw a punch in the face of the jeering crowd. Literally…but he did not stop there. The fury did not end. He continued to pulverize the men till G stopped him._

_"Don't!" G had grabbed his fist, which was now covered with the crimson liquid. "Don't…" He half whispered. Giotto blinked in confusion before curtly nodding. He would not hesitate to kill them. They murdered his family and killed his best friend…but…he knew what G wanted to tell him-_they aren't worth it…_**so don't kill them**__. He felt himself glaring at the mangled bodies twitching with pain._

_G grimaced at the sudden personality change in his friend, but stumbled forward to the least injured man – the one with just a broken nose (which was really bloody) a dislocated arm and a few broken ribs. The man cringed against wall as the red-head leaned forward, still clutching his own injured arm._

_"Who are you? Who ordered this?" He spat directly in the man's face. "Tell us and we will let you go."_

_The man shivered at the hostile glint in the eyes of the teen whom he had been tormenting just minutes ago. "We…" He sniffed, feeling the blood trickling down, his eyes shifty and nervous. "…are the Condottieri [1]…and we are just low class mercenary!"_

_"And who hired you and why?" Giotto snapped, his anger starting to flare up again._

_The man flinched and squeaked in fear. "Sallust! The house of Sallust! They…they wanted to monopolize all of the trading routes!"_

_Giotto hissed at the name. "Sallust! I should have known." He glared daggers at the whimpering man. "Scram!" The coward, not needing further encouragement, ran away from the burnt mansion like an ashamed dog, with his tail between his legs._

_Giotto turned to see G leaning dizzily against the wall and he hastily tore his sleeve to bandage the other's arm. "We need to get you to a doctor." His voice sounded hoarse with fear._

_**I can't lose another person. Not again…**_

_G could only shakily nod in reply._

_He could hardly remember how he got out of the house with Giotto. He could only vaguely recall hearing an explosion behind them as they left the house. He had an impression that Giotto had done something, but could not bring himself to ask…but he didn't care. Seriously._

_They deserved it, but whether the price of seeing the haunted look on his friend's face or facing death would remain a question for a long time._

_After that incident, they had sworn. They had sworn to take down the Sallust house, who had killed Giotto's family in order to advance their own ambitions and satiate their greed; they had sworn not to rest till they had gotten their vengeance over that family's cruelty._

_Months later, they also swore to protect the numerous citizens, whom Giotto's family had once protected, from the ruthless reign of the Sallust family._

* * *

[1] Condottieri (singular condottiero and condottiere) were the mercenary soldier leaders (or warlords) of the professional, military free companies contracted by the Italian city-states and the Papacy,[1] from the late Middle Ages and throughout the Renaissance.

_**

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DO YOU SEE BLUE TEXT BELOW THIS THAT SAYS "REVIEW THIS CHAPTER"? Do the author a favor and click on it. Then, type in what you think. :D You get virtual Cookies!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Tsuna would have been lying between his teeth if he proclaimed that he was not at all bothered by Giotto's tale. It was indeed his nature to fuss and take care of others in need – very similar to his ditzy mother – and that was his only exemplary trait in his opinion. It was also an attribute greatly needed in a boss with innumerable underlings – as Reborn had told him, much to his dismay.

Yet, he knew it was not his place to interfere. Rather than that, he needed to remove the additional "little" problem he might have added to his ancestor's pile of trouble. Tsuna glanced at the sleeping figure across the room.

_This is the guy who had caused me so much trouble because he became a mafia boss. Couldn't he have picked a different profession? _He smiled fondly at the man. _Yet, it was because of him that I am standing here today. Without him, I would not have met Reborn. Without him, things would have been different. And this is the place where it had all started… Perhaps, I could…_

He shook his head at the thought. No – he was just being asinine. As much as he wanted to help Giotto, he had a mission of his own. If he failed his own duty, it would leave both of them deep in the murky waters of danger.

He silently slithered out of his nest of blankets, keeping a watchful eye on the blond as he gingerly shifted his weight on the floorboards. The man did not budge an inch and his peaceful slumber placed increasing amount of confidence in Tsuna's every step. Finally, he edged out of the room and into the dark corridor.

As Tsuna took his first step out of the inn, he shivered when the cold wind caress his skin. It was colder then the teen had expected, but that wasn't surprising, since it was the cool hours before the daybreak – too early for anyone to start his or her own daily activities.

Lackadaisically, he started to slowly jog, for he was hoping to get some of the desired warmth into his system as his exploration continued. He needed to get some essential clues for his current mission, yet it seemed that none were going to willingly reveal themselves to him.

"Of course not." the brunet grumbled to himself, vexed. What are the odds of that happening?

While wandering in the smaller streets, he spotted an all-so-familiar alleyway. Tsuna frowned before his facial expression brightened with comprehension- this was the place where the guards had cornered them!

Tsuna padded forward, nervously looking around for any signs of visible movement. When none came, he scurried on towards the area between the bleak walls. However, when he heard voices behind him, Tsuna froze and nearly squealed in surprise, but had enough sense to dive headfirst into a pile of crates.

The two steps of heavy footsteps came closer; the teen tensed when the men spoke.

"Told yer no one way here…" the first man grunted. "Yer must be hearing things!"

The second man leaned against the wall opposite his hiding spot. _(No! Go away!) _"Must have been those brats a few days ago." He replied grudgingly, his words laced with a heavy accent.

The first guard rolled his eyes. "Yea! Those kids were odd! I mean, falling outta the sky? Talking about oddities; oh, have you seen the weird couple? You know those two that was wearing the oddest-looking tunic? God, they are grating my nerves. I hafta wonder why Lord Sallust would even think about keeping them around."

The latter laughed in amusement. "That man looked like a zebra!" he said, sighing. "I don't like that woman. She has cheek…women should stay at home, serve their man and look pretty. That _man_ should whip his woman and teach her who's boss!"

The other man snorted. "Says the man who clings on to his wife's every word like a love-struck puppy." His friend glared at him, and was about to protest when he was cut short of his words. "Come on, puppy, we better move on. You don't want that crazy woman after us, do you?"

The guards continued to bicker as they headed on to finish what was left of their patrol, much to Tsuna's relief. He crawled out, attempting to ease the pins and needles that had settled in his momentary stay inside the crates. When he was sure that they had completely disappeared, he raced out of the lane back to the docks.

There, he settled himself by the ledge of the wooden platform, legs dangling over the waves. The early bustle of the market was beginning, and with the clothes Giotto had provided, he blended in perfectly; he was dressed in a white tunic down to his knees, strapped down by a plain black cloth tied neatly around his waist, which was accompanied with excessively long dark trousers, folded multiple times around the ankle. To any of the passing adults, he simply looked like a typical teen lazing the day away.

Tsuna closed his eyes, wiping off the cold sweat on his fervent brows. This was not what he had in mind. He had never wanted to be something among the lines of James Bond, jumping off buildings and spying like the other kids, he was just…well…him.

But, this trip had given him a clue and that was a start. There were two suspicious individuals that are out of place in the house of "Lord Sallust", as the guards had mentioned. He grimaced. _That is very same person Giotto is after…_

With the new tidbit of information playing in his mind, Tsuna decided to end his mini adventure, and hurried back home-or his current stay.

* * *

...

.

.

...

* * *

The men of Piedmont were practically the children of the sea. They had learnt how to swim almost the same time they learnt how to walk. Fathers would often bring the little younglings to the acclaimed beaches on small little boats for long fishing trips whenever they had time to spare; children could be seen running and swimming off coast, independent and cheerful in the cool water. These parents had little concerns over drowning and treacherous weathers, for it was simply ingrained into their lifestyles.

Now, contrary to that, Tsuna felt ridiculous, getting tossed around like a leaf on the raging current of the sea. He could have sworn it was a childish vengeance that the two others had set up for disappearing at the crack of dawn without a plausible explanation.

The brunet could almost hear Giotto's laughter over the clashing waves at his desperate attempt to maintain a death grip on the ledge of what they called a _boat_. No matter how he looked at it, this contraption was simply a few flimsy, and morbidly weak pieces of wood, tied together with an absurd number of ropes and knots.

Disregarding the fact the "floating plank", as what Tsuna would like to call it, looked so fragile and small in face of nature's adversity, he was tossed onto it for what the older males had proclaimed a sightseeing trip in the middle of the night.

"You have not been to Piedmont 'till you've been on a boat!" G yelled merrily as yet another surge of the salty ocean hurled towards them. His eyes were twinkling merry at Tsuna, whose stomach was beginning to heave. "Care to tell us where you went earlier today?"

The latter wordlessly shook is head. Since he was incapable of stringing any coherent words together at the moment, Tsuna was almost desperate enough to consider the use of sign language to convey his thoughts.

He couldn't really tell them that he was sniffing for information about some enemies who were after their lives. _Sure, tell them that, _he grumbled inwardly. _Tell them that some invisible assassins from the future want to kill them. And let's add in that I have no idea on their motives, appearance or where they might be. _"Might as well say that I am his descendent too…" Tsuna muttered.

Giotto and G spared him a glance. "Did you say something?"

Tsuna hastily shook his head.

"As you wish…" The red-hair shrugged in reply, laughing gleefully at the spray of the seawater on his face.

"Fun, isn't it?" Decimo's ancestor asked him cheerfully.

The younger boy only gave him a dirty look, before doubling over the edge and dry-heaving what was left of his dinner.

G made a mock sad face. "Awww…there goes the fish…" he teased.

The victim blandly ignored the comment and spotted Giotto grinning and giving a thumbs-up. By then, he too exhausted to even make a face at them and could only silently roll his eyes to keep his remaining dignity intact.

Now, perhaps it would have been wiser to keep a close eye on the miserable, seasick brunet. But when a huge wave came crashing down, the distracted men turned their backs on the teen, who had tried to stay huddled on the centre of the raft, with his knees drawn to his chest, and his arms around the knees.

This, unfortunately, was a bad move on his part.

With a yelp of surprise, an unexpected wave washed the confused occupant into the dark ocean. His body went _smack_, right into the middle of the ocean with the icy water chilling him on all sides. Tsuna felt his fear threaten to overwhelm his senses and desperately tried to hold his breath, determinedly kicking against the dark water that was enigmatically swirling around him. But in his confusion, he could no long tell which direction he was swimming as he fought against the current.

_Where was the surface?_

Only armed with his intuition, he threw everything his friends had taught him at the pool to the test.

_How long had I been in here?_

Perhaps it was a just few seconds, perhaps minutes. By then, the brunet had no idea how long he stayed underwater. All he knew was that his lungs burned with the lack of oxygen, and that he needed to get to the surface.

But soon, terror caught up and began figuratively choking him. _No, a bit more! _He willed himself when his face suddenly shot up into the cool air. Inhaling a huge gasp of air, he almost wept with tears. He franticly looked around for his companions but was only met with the sight of the endless peaks of water.

_NO! Where are they!_

The teen felt the last of his adrenaline finally seeping away.

_Come on! Just a little more!_

He felt himself struggling to stay afloat but his legs were becoming numb, his clothes were pushing him down.

_Wait! I hear something!_

He spun his head around, only to see nothing. The brunet whimpered. B-but he could have sworn heard voices! Although…it was so far that it didn't seem real.

_But I know I heard it! _Tsuna thought desperately, before the delicious intake of air was cut off again. His conscious finally began to flicker and the darkness took him…

* * *

"WHERE IS HE?" An agitated blond yelled looking hysterically around for any signs of the boy.

His friend paddled harder, straining his eyes in dark. "I CAN'T SEE A THING!" He cried back hoarsely. "We need to get more help!"

"But he may be drowning!"

G grabbed his collar and shook him. "That's why we need to do it _NOW_!" he growled fiercely. His eyes softened a little as he added softly, "There is too much area for a small boat like this to cover…"

Giotto gave him a pained look and nodded. Without a word, both of them took up oars and thrust them against the sea as fast as they could go.

"Please…please stay safe…" the future Vongola Primo whispered with a last tormented glimpse at the murky water of Piedmont.

* * *

**A/N:**

Thank you all reviewers! I shall grovel like um…. a person groveling…. Please forgive for late update and lack of replies to reviews! Two part time jobs with school is hell in my opinion. Well, life goes on~~~!

Well, if some of you have noticed, I started a new story. I am in need of comments on how it should go so do pop by and take a look~!

Once again thank you patient readers! I am really sorry for such a long delay! I will be re-editing the first few chapters of the story soon. Do review to let me know if you like how the story is coming along. Woosh~~~!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_Dizziness. _

Nauseous in its penetrated his skull, and pounded into his brain as hard as it could. Pain was seething into each and every muscle, bleeding through his body, gripping and crawling over his skin. Tsuna flinched when he tired to move his limbs.

"It hurts." The brunet whimpered and inhaled a quivering breath.

Unfocused brown eyes cracked open and blinked, the owner's fuzzy brain still unable to process too much. Tsuna pressed his clammy palms on his forehead with a frown as he attempted to focus. Instead, his world tilted to his left, and his body followed closely behind.

"Boy?" A placid voice, seeming to swim woozily around his head, was heard, and a gentle arm wrapped itself around his back, stabilizing his body. "Are you awake?"

Tsuna answered with a shaky groan. He gritted his teeth as a wave of nausea rolled over him, then tensed and swallowed the bile back.

"Get the doctor here!" He could barely register the man holding on to him calling out to someone in the room. The teen felt the man shifting him. "Boy, how are you feeling?"

Feeling? Dizzy. Feverish. And weak. His arms felt as if they weighed a ton, and he himself was extremely uncomfortable for some reason.

"It hurts…my arm hurts…"

"You nicked it when you were struggling. It was a pretty deep cut," the stranger replied. A nearby door slammed open and hurried footsteps approached him.

"The doctor is here. You're going be fine," he soothed the feverish boy.

A hand reached out and rested on Tsuna's forehead. It was wonderfully cool and nice on his skin.

"Asari…he's feverish. His skin is burning up," a second voice boomed above him.

The arm around Tsuna's back was now moving in comforting circles. Asari? Was it this man's name? It sounded familiar, but a fog in his brain was blocking out any available information.

"Would he be alright?" the Asari-guy asked, voice soft and laced with concern.

"Fever (temperatures at 37+ degrees Celsius/100+ degrees Fahrenheit), a slight infection, and dehydration. Give him some water slowly. Very slowly. Then allow him to rest. I will prepare some medications." He felt the man behind him nod.

"Here, drink…" The voice seemed to be directed at him. He felt someone the thin edge of the cup settle on lips and a cool stream of water stumbling in. The boy drank greedily, feeling his parched mouth being slowly restored into it's original state. To his dismay, the cup was eased away from him.

"Slowly!" Tsuna heard Asari chide him. "You heard the doctor…"

The cup approached him again, and this time, he obediently sipped the water-despite his overwhelming desire to chug it down. When he was done, Asari patted his head, and settled him back on his bed. "Sleep…"

Blinking wearily, the brunet fought the urge to shut his eyes and rest.

"Gio'-to…?" he rasped weakly. "Wer…?" It was getting rather hard to breathe and talk simultaneously.

Even with the broken and senseless words, his caretaker seemed to understand what he was trying to say. "Your companions?" he asked quietly.

Tsuna nodded feebly. The pain in the brunet's head seemed to intensify with his movements, and he stopped immediately.

"Giotto… is that right? I'll look for him…" the other promised. "So sleep… It'll be fine."

Relieved and assured that his friends would be informed, the boy gratefully closed his eyes and sunk into a deep dreamless sleep.

Vongola Decimo had no idea how long he slept. When he regained consciousness, he was cozily tucked in a small bed, and the warmth was luring him to return to his dreamland. Blinking out the last ounce of sleep in his eyes, he found himself in a plain looking room with a small round window on the side, and a wooden table with two stools stashed in the corner.

Small bits and pieces of memory skied his mind as Tsuna found himself leaving the bed to peer out of the window. He blinked owlishly.

He was on a _ship _at sea.

The confused teen took a step back and frowned. Some things were not adding up. How did he get here? He tried to think back, but his memories were a little hazy.

"You are looking better." A familiar voice remarked from behind him.

Tsuna jumped, embarrassed to be caught unaware by a total stranger. He hastily spun around to detect the owner and found a man dressed in traditional Japanese attire. This man must have been the "Asari", of whom had saved him.

"I'm fine…" The boy murmured, running a hand between his spiky hair. The older male laughed at his politeness, earning a small shy smile from the brunet. The man's ringing laughter had reminded him of his baseball friend.

"Thank you for helping me." Tsuna bowed towards his savior.

Asari cheerfully grinned and waved a hand of dismissal. "No problem; it's something anyone would do."

A thought suddenly stuck Tsuna and jump up in panic. "Giotto! Oh no!" the brunet squealed, realizing he had forgotten about his mission. What if the enemies had caught him? What if he was attacked? What if…?

A firm hand gripped his shoulder and shook him gently. "Breathe boy… Breathe! You are hyperventilating!"

The said brunet, however, showed no signs of calming down. "But I…" he gasped desperately. "I…"

"It's fine!" the Japanese man interrupted him. "I sent a man down to the port to look for a man named Giotto so he would be informed of your whereabouts. We've gotten a reply yesterday." he told the teen, pulling a small scroll from his pocket.

The teen finally began to collect his nerves back and started to breathe again. After a few minutes, the rhythmic rise and fall on his chest steadied.

Placing the paper on Tsuna's hands, the other took it and rolled hurriedly it out to read its contents, only to find it in Italian. He stared at it and grimaced. Why had he not learned how to read properly yet?

Asari arched an eyebrow, but an amused light danced in his eyes. "Need help?"

Tsuna looked up, beet-red with humiliation. "Yes, please…"

"Pass it along," Asari told him, amusement in his voice. "Let me see." He peered at the small piece of paper and slightly squinted his eyes.

"Glad you're fine. You worried us. Come back soon. Tell the man who saved you that we owe him. G."

The teen sagged in relief. Both of them were still safe.

"What happened?" Asari prodded him curiously. "Why were you out there?"

Tsuna scratched his head embarrassedly. "It was an accident. I cot washed away from the…_boat_."

The other nodded in understanding and flicked his eyes to the window facing the open sea. "Rough weather."

Watching the boy fiddle with his fingers, Asari made up his mind that he liked the boy's polite and demure nature. He reminded him very much of his people in own motherland, a contrast with the rough, loud and boisterous men of the west. "We could drop you off at Piedmont tomorrow if you like. We happened to be heading there for a performance."

"Really? That would be great!" Tsuna exclaimed gratefully, earning a grin from the older male.

"No worries 'bout it!"

The youngster paused for a moment. "Where are you performing? Could I go take a look?"

The Japanese man smiled apologetically. "I am not too sure about it… It is kind of a high-class private party. Some noble family…House of Sallust, I think."

Tsuna paled as he heard that dreaded name. "Wait… _SALLUST_?"

"Boy…?" The raven hair man asked in confusion. "Are you alright?"

The pale boy's hand gripped the front of his own nightshirt.

"Yes," he whispered as his thoughts raced around his head. Giotto's enemies. And they may be his too, by chance. If he could get in, he may just be able to determine that. It could be the perfect opportunity in order to catch his evasive opponents off guard…

"Are you sure?" Asari inquired nervously, itching to call upon the doctor again and give the poor child a full check-up.

"Yes! Sorry about that-I'm fine!" Tsuna hurriedly replied.

The musician nodded, although still giving the other a suspicious look.

"Do…you think," the teen started hesitantly, "I could go with you…?"

Asari eyes widened with surprise at the unexpected turn of the events. "What?"

"No…?"

He saw the other deflate a little in his seat and added hastily, not wanting to disappoint his guest. "But perhaps we could sneak you in as my assistant…"

"Could you?" Tsuna jumped up enthusiastically.

Wondering idly why he was getting attached to a prefect stranger, Asari hesitantly bobbed his head in agreement. "I guess so…"

The Japanese man had no idea why he could not shake off the notion that _this_ performance was not going to go as smoothly as he had hoped. His fingers twitched a little. He would bring his Katana, he decided edgily, watching his companion. Nothing would probably happen. Yes. Nothing _will_ happen. But it was a precaution, he told himself. _Just in case_.

The evening sun basked the sky in a beautiful red hue, indicating a dry weather for sailors the next day. The shadows elongated with the sinking lights and the residents on the streets diminished, retiring to their cozy homes for the night.

A certain young brunet scurried onwards to a rowdy inn located at the end of street. He slipped in, and squirmed his way through the patrons to the bar counter.

"Nancy! Where's Giotto?" he asked without preamble.

"Oh, Tsuna! You're okay!" the young waitress behind the counter gushed. "I heard that you fell into the sea! And then they…"

"Nancy…!" The boy interrupted. Nancy was immensely nice-really. But she was a hardcore loquacious talker, and could go on for _hours_ if no one stopped her. He had learnt that from their first encounter-it ended up with the waitress talking for three hours straight before G was able to pull him away. From then on, he figured that one needed to be strict with her.

"Oh… I did it again, didn't I?" The woman sheepishly twirled her pigtails. "I keep forgetting that I…"

"Nancy, this is urgent!" Tsuna snapped in annoyance.

Nancy stiffened for a second, and then replied. "They left a few hours ago, said they have a party to crash. They told me to tell you to stay here when you came back."

"Party…? It can't be…" His voice faltered realizing what it meant as he stood there shaking his head, denying her words with a look of pure panic etched on his face. They couldn't have gone to Sallust's "party" had they? Why? How? They had no idea they were running headfirst into danger!

Without another word, Tsuna dashed away, leaving the babbling waitress behind, barely registering her shouts that he was supposed to stay put.

* * *

_Three hours ago_

Giotto and G were seated in the corner of the inn when a young man in his late teens entered. Although he was dressed in simple clothes, he slightly stood out from the rowdy crowd with his all-too-clean look and the clothes that looked a little too expensive for the place. A lazy glance scanned the area and fell on the table. Lifting a hand up, he waved once.

G acknowledged the newcomer with a grunt and continued to drink his ale, ignoring the impatient glare he received.

"Rampo," Giotto grinned instead, successfully distracting the other. "It's been awhile."

Rampo beamed at the blonde. "Yes it has, haven't it?"

He turned to look around, as if trying to locate someone, before turning back to the duo. "Where's the kid?"

Both of them gave him a wary look. "How did you know?" G finally asked.

"Believe it or not, you guys aren't as discreet as you'd like to believe," The curly-hair man smirked. "Plus, I have my sources."

"Bet you simply paid someone to spy," the king of thieves muttered into his cup. "Aristocratic brat."

Rampo sneered back at him, "Walls have ears and I am the great one with the information today."

"I didn't see how great you become when you were tossed into the sea," the other retorted, smirk as impish as the one he had been given.

"Hey!" Rampo protested, "That was so long ago… Have I not been useful since then?"

"Alright! Can it, you two," Giotto cut in disapprovingly and turned to the youngest of the pair. "Didn't you have a useful tidbit for us today?"

"Oh! Yes…! Right!"

Rampo leaned forward, closer to the table and the others followed the suit. "The House of Sallust is having a ball tonight. A huge one. All the big names are going to be there. And they said that they have a major secret to unveil for all."

"Unveil?" Giotto questioned curiously.

"Yes…," the reply was almost smug. "About the future."

G blinked. "Future? How?"

Rampo leaned back from the circle and shrugged. "No clue."

Silence reigned, and it stretched over several moments as each organized the information exchanged.

"It seemed we have to crash the party then," Giotto declared abruptly, with an almost malicious smile. To crash and disrupt such a party would certainly ruin the hosting family's reputation to a certain extent.

That would be fun.

G mirrored his smile and whistled in agreement.

"I could take you guys in without a hitch!" the teen on the other side rattled excitedly. "I can…"

The red-head cleared his throat. "Rampo…"

"G…" Rampo countered, mimicking his warning tone.

"You'll get into trouble with your family," Giotto interjected sternly.

Rampo shrugged. "It's not as if I care. Those people are only concern about money, ranking and themselves. They're a bunch of narcissists."

"They'll simply use money to cover up something, as usual," he added in disgust.

Giotto and G exchanged exasperated looks. "Aren't you using them to use the money now?" G pointed out.

"Then at least some money is going into good use," the boy snapped. Before the others could say a word, he added quickly, grinning in triumph. "Plus, you will need me to lead the way in."

G ruffled his hair in agitation. Despite their many differences, deep down, he did really care of the boy, and this they all knew. Why couldn't any of them stay out of trouble? Once upon a time, he was in trouble, he thought, well… he still was. Just not as much. Now, it seemed that everyone around him is intending to jump further in then he. Jealous? With a self-directed eye-roll, he grumbled his breath.

Giotto sighed and shook his head. "Fine, you can come. We trust you to stay of trouble."

The noble replied, his tone an air of injured dignity. "I don't cause trouble. Meet me at my house in an hour. We have a party to crash."

Both the older males nodded-albeit a tad grudgingly.

* * *

**A/N:**

Once again, many thanks to my beta, **gracefulsunshine**. m(_ _)m. My grammar is terrible and she spent ages clearing it up.

To anyone who had commented and review on the chapter, thank you. I am really grateful and it was your positive comments that made me kept going on this story. I'm sorry if I didn't reply you, but I promise I did read EVERY single review.

* * *

I will open up a F&Q section next round, so feel free to ask any questions in relation to the story.

**Q: It is suppose to be Lampo, not Rampo isn't it? **

A: Yes, but Lambo, Lampo, Lambo, Lampo... it is too confusing and I get a bit mixed up just reading it. There are some sites and fanfiction that uses "Rampo" and I thought it might be a better choice. Hope you guys wouldn't mind...

**Q: Are the rest of Primo guardians coming out?**

A: One more just did! (○ゝз・)b⌒* Yes, they all are.

**Q: When will Giotto find out about Tsuna?**

A: In the fight... a few chapters later. (*´ー｀)ﾉ

**Please... Pretty Pluz? Click on the blue button below and gimme a comment!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Rampo snorted as he watched the nobles exchange euphuistic prose. He had never understood the need for such a frivolous display of "elegance", as his personal home tutor had put it. Even though the food was bountiful and the wine was delicious, this aristocratic community was a massive contrast to the lives of an average citizen the street.

He very much preferred the rough, crude, but direct and distinct street lingo found commonly in the docks. Where words were simply words-not even the cursing and rude gestures had any impact. No hidden agenda, no political hints of power, and no double meanings between each sentence.

Once again, the teenager found himself amidst this senseless political charade. Well, at least he had a purpose today, he thought to himself, unconsciously running a hand through his wavy mop of hair.

Despite his misgiving against this particular society, the teen had to admit (grudgingly, though)- the ballroom in the House of Sallust was indeed a magnificent architecture of skill and art and a sight to behold. The ceiling was designed to hold pieces of elaborated paintings, replicas of the works done by the renowned artists in the century. Corinthian pillars that were placed uniformly at the side of the hall were carved with exquisite golden leaves and sliver flowers accompanied with the lithe figures of fairies dancing dainty on the petals, right down to the minute detail. Even the tables, chairs, curtains, carpets were made of the most expensive materials available in the market and embroidered with complex designs.

Then, as if to match up with the surroundings, each of the nobles was dressed in extravagant fineries and lavished themselves in a scenery fitting for the king's court. Brightly colored fabrics swirled along with the orchestra's tune, coaxing their partners to match with equal grace. The women boasted their worth through countless jewelry that decorated their necks and wrists as they flirted openly with noblemen, whom accepted the attention with glee as they, too, swaggered around, bragging about their own deeds and conquests of the past.

Making his way around the profligacy display of wealth to greet his peers, Rampo's "newly acquired menservants", a blond and a maroon-haired male, who shadowed him closely behind, kept a watchful eye on the crowd. When he was done with the customary greetings, he slinked back in to shadows at the side with a small plate of food in his hands.

Pretending that he was eating, the young nobleman muttered irritably under his breath, "I saw that. Will you guys stop nicking stuff?"

G posed an air of innocence and blinked at him. "What do you mean, young master?"

The pubescent sighed while his entourages exchanged mischievous grins.

"Well, young master, it's just that they're dangling there, begging for me to pick 'em up. It seemed that they didn't like their masters very much. Didn't like 'em at all. And 'ey didn't know I took them too! In fact, their masters' reactions were so slow that I don't think they will even know did it if I pinched their butts," the red-haired man continued with a straight face, causing the teen to sputter his half-eaten potatoes back into his plate.

Giotto felt his lips twitch as he played his part as "servant number two". The twinkles in his eyes danced as he acted along side his best mate. "Now, now, young master, that's not very nice to spit out your food. That isn't polite."

Rampo gaped at the two, torn between exasperation, amusement and bewilderment that his companions were still joking when they were very much at risk of being caught any moment. He had not been brimming with confidence now that they infiltrated into Sallust territory. Ramp inwardly jumped in fear every time they passed by a guardsman, or if one happened to cast a look in their direction. And yet, these two were openly _stealing_ items_,_ and to make matters worse, they were _joking_ about it. What were their nerves made of?

He shook his head resigned to his situation. "I swear… you people are crazy."

Giotto inclined his head towards the majestic structure. "If they could afford such finery, I highly doubt they would sorely miss anything we've… What the…"

He paused abruptly, catching sight of a familiar brunet slipping out of the servants' doorway with a musician. "G!" He hissed in a low voice, "I just saw Tsuna!"

With a jerk, the redhead spun around in alarm. "Where?"

"He just left from there," his friend shortly replied, swearing under his breath as he indicated to the wooden door behind the heavy curtains. With a quick scan around the room to ensure no one was paying any attention to the trio, the man made his way towards the exit.

G followed his line of sight, He hesitated for a second before going after Giotto, casting a glance at the nobleman to check if he was indeed behind him. "You sure 'bout that?"

"Affirmative," the head ahead of him bobbed.

Rampo sighed at this sudden change of plans. "What do you think he was doing here? Is he a spy?" He inquired softly, keeping up the quick pace his friends had set. Both his companions paused abruptly, causing him to walk right into G's back.

"Don't just stop like that! What the hell is…" before Rampo could complete his sentence, the blond turned. They could see his face-a mask of hesitation and betrayal.

Giott's hands hovered over the golden doorknob before uttering softly, "Well, either he's the trouble… or he's going be in trouble…"

G could only grimace in reply.

* * *

A couple of hallways from the door, the said teenager sneezed.

Asari gave him a concerned look. "Are you alright? That was one hell of a sneeze."

Tsuna sniffed and rubbed his twitching nose. "yea… I am fine. I think someone's talking about me."

"You believe in those superstitions?" His savior laughed.

Tsuna shrugged nonchalantly, but a slight tinge of red splotched on his cheeks. "Perhaps? You don't?"

Engaging themselves in a lengthy conversation about the topic, they pretended to be lost, strolling down the passageway leading to the study. When they were able to slip in without any problems, the Vongola Decimo gave an internal cheer at their success.

His companion glanced towards the towering shelves of books. "So… What are we looking for again?"

"Any hints of unusual or out-of-place… stuff," Tsuna answered hesitantly, making a beeline for the nearest table. But before he could even reach it, his ears picked up soft echoes of ominous footsteps of an unwanted guest in room.

"What do we do now?" the teen panicked as he looked about desperately.

Asari nudged him and pointed to a creaky old cabinet at the corner. "Hide." His voice was harsh with fear.

The sound of the footfalls were getting louder and the two males made a dash for the small cupboard and threw the doors open. They piled into the crammed quarters, and the cabinet creaked tentatively at the unexpected weight.

Closing the entrance, they left just a crack to peek out from. The brunet decided not to voice his morbid prediction of their situation if this enclosed space was going to topple over in the middle of hiding.

"Tsuna," the musician hissed when they were securely out of sight. "Move over to the other end! You're crushing me!"

"Gimme a moment. I'll try!" the teenager muttered under his breath and attempted to ease back a few inches. He could barely suppress a groan when his companion suddenly shifted and accidently kneed his stomach in the process.

"Sorry!" Asari said apologetically. He winced in sympathy.

"Ouch! Don't sit there! That's my foot!"

"Just stop moving!" Crushed between the wooden corners of the cupboard, a ton of coats and a wriggling body determined to get more space, the raven-haired man was confident that he was going to get claustrophobia.

Tsuna grunted with discomfort. "You make it sound so easy!"

"Hush! They're coming in!"

After what seemed like an eternity to the pair, the door swung open and a number of individuals streamed in. The duo had finally settled down, determining that _this_ was going to as comfortable as it got while being holed up in a cupboard. Both of them pressed forward-they intended to sneak a look at the occupants of the room.

Tsuna squirted when the lights hit his eyes. When his eyes refocused, he spotted a middle-aged brunette dressed in a similar fashion to a zebra. The boy frowned. It oddly reminded him of someone, but he could not place a finger onto it. Moving on, he saw two men. One had striking red hair tamed and tied back to form a ponytail, and wore a dark suit; the other had a ridiculous Afro and was in a lab coat.

"Tell me," the redhead drawled in an eerily cold voice. "How has the progress been?"

"We found it. The source of the _flusso di vita, _or more well-known as the 'flow of life'." The woman exchanged a smirk with the Afro.

The dark-suited man nodded, seemingly pleased.

Afro tucked his hands into his coat. "Lord Sallust," he started. Tsuna felt his breath hitched at the name. _This man?_

The speaker continued, not realizing the surprised reaction of his hidden audience, "About our deal. You'll keep it, won't you?"

The other waved his question off dismissively. "You keep your end of the bargain and use your magic from the future to get that for me. Then I'll help you to kill that Giotto brat and his friends. They are becoming a nuisance anyway."

This time, Tsuna nearly squeaked in surprise and stumbled back. But Asari, realizing this, clamped his hands over his friend's mouth and held him steady. The brunet nodded his gratitude when he regained his balance.

_They were the one he was looking for._

"It isn't magic," the woman replied disdainfully. "Science, it is not…?"

"Whatever," the latter interrupted in annoyance. "As long as the job is completed, it doesn't matter what it is."

The brunette shot him a resentful glare before turning on her heels and stomping out of the room with the Afro following closely behind.

"I should have your head for your disrespectfulness, woman," Lord Sallust muttered before standing up from his seat. Shaking his head at the obscurity of woman of the future, he too made his way out, shutting the door with a soft click.

The hidden eavesdroppers sighed in relief at the abrupt departure of the owner and attempted to leave the stuffy cabinet at the same time. However, they nearly toppled onto the floor during the process. Getting back to their feet, Tsuna and Asari exchanged toothy grins.

To their horror, the study door was flung opened again and in an instant, Asari jumped back to his previous hideout, whilst the Vongola Decimo dived behind the sofa that Sallust had occupied only moments before.

"What are you guys doing?" Tsuna froze when he heard an amused and familiar voice.

"Well, if they are hiding, I don't think they are spies." A not-so-familiar voice replied lightly.

Tsuna found courage to peek from behind the chair, and immediately was welcomed by the sight he saw. He slumped onto the ground and clenched a fist over his pounding heart.

"Tsuna…?" A hesitant voice asked from the cupboard.

"Friends."

The raven hair teen slowly pushed open the door and looked at the trio curiously. His eyes landed on the blond. "You must be Giotto?" he asked, climbing out again for the second time.

Giotto nodded as he watched G moving forward to help Tsuna from the ground. "Either way, young man," he told the brunet sternly. "You're in deep trouble."

Vongola Decimo gulped and took a step back. "But… I was…. I wanted…"

His guardian crossed his arms. "Enlighten me."

The boy blinked furiously, uncertain about how much he could say. He eyes darted to the only exit behind his ancestor. He threw a pleading look towards Asari, who would only scratch his head and laugh awkwardly at the situation.

"So?" the blond expectantly asked again.

"I… I…" He was going to be in _BIG _trouble.

* * *

Although he would like to say that it was an accident, a coincidence, one improbable event leading to another, implausible sequences of events were ubiquitous in his life.

After promises to explain later, the group decided it was time to hightail out of the place. But how had a simple "Plan A: Escape from Enemy Territory" ended up a full fledge war in the castle? The prospective Vongola Decimo swore he had absolutely no idea.

He was pretty certain that it happened somewhere along the lines of them running in different directions, crashing into a few people, someone yelling about being attacked, pride of honor of their house, followed by some screams that their house was the supreme and then the drawing of the weapons.

Or was it the drawing of weapons and then the screams of "_who was the best_"? It didn't really matter, Tsuna thought. He needed to find his companions, and get the hell out… or get the hell out, and then find his companions.

Tsuna rolled his eyes at his own thought process. Now was definitely not the time for this.

* * *

Weapons, fists and blood were flying everywhere. The ex-merchant sighed, though what flashed in his sky-blue eyes was not of fear and annoyance, but a strange sense of thrill, a gentle nudge of lust for a well-placed challenge. Years of experience in dirty fights and his natural instincts proved their every cent's worth as yet another sloppy punch flew towards him, causing him to dodge it without even looking at the brawler.

The brawl was one of the most extreme he had ever been involved in, Giotto mused. He hoped the rest were doing well. He was worried how they were faring, especially his young charge…

Ignoring the yell behind him, the blond's sharp eyes scanned his surroundings whilst progressing forward; he spotted his best friend's fiery hair tackling an unsuspecting guard; a telltale flash of a long sword, likely to be from the brunet's companion. Giotto suddenly paused when he finally found his young charge, nearly getting stabbed as a result when a flash of sliver pass him.

Giotto swore and barely ducked sideways in time, with the knife missing him by inches, burying itself into some unfortunate person behind. When he stood up, he had already lost sight of the kid in the chaos. Nevertheless, he was smirking. Tsuna was right. He _could_ fight! Even though he had barely caught a glimpse, he saw it. There was seriously nothing to worry about at all. He would make it back safely.

That boy… Although unassuming by appearance, the teen they had picked up could pummel his way easily though hordes of the soldiers and actually had power in the small, lithe body. It was an interesting dichotomy. He may not have the required strength to pass off as a decent fighter, but speed, precision and agility were his weapons; with a jab at the liver; a kick on the nose; a heel on soft muscle tissues, he even brought down a man twice his size.

However, while his excited guardian was exhilarated with the fight he was in, the said adolescent was not. Another man had spotted the "easy pick" in the chaos and twisted his attention to him. The burly chap moved in for the kill and swung an oversized club in his direction. With a small "eep", Tsuna jumped back and turned towards his assailant staring nervously at him with intense regard.

Now, contrary to what most think, Tsuna was capable of fighting without his dying will, thank you very much. After all, the dying will was a manifestation of his potential capabilities. Sure, he couldn't fly without being in hyper dying will mode; he wasn't as fast or as strong. But, did any sensible person really believe that Reborn would allow him not know how to fight without his dying will?

Needless to say, Tsuna had no actual need to tell anyone. He hated to fight. He was a coward who would rather run than face challenges without any provocations. That was, indeed, the truth. But as tempting as it sounded, using his dying will here would be a very bad idea.

Nevertheless, the brunet was at a major disadvantage here. His strength was ebbing away with each kick and his stamina was hitting dangerously close to the end. Furthermore, it was starting to rain. Aggravated that he was caught in between such a compromising situation, Tsuna decided to end this fast and make a dash for it. He darted forward and stomped hard on his attacker's foot before delivering an elbow to the throat, flinching at the impact. But it was done. The incapacitated man dropped like a stone in the wet ground.

Tsuna panted in exhaustion. His built wasn't meant to consecutively fight ten hulks in a row. Yet, when another attacker slashed at his torso, he could barely dodge, swooshing into a puddle that formed behind him moments ago. Feeling extremely irritated, the boy made his split-second decision and reached for the hidden case tucked securely in back pocket.

Screw secrecy. Screw the rain. Screw the neon-orange sign on his forehead that was screaming, "attack me". Screw the Zebra-print woman who was out to kill them. All Tsuna wanted to do now was to go home and sleep off his oncoming migraine. The frustrated boy tossed the bluish sphere into his mouth. Orange flames, its intensity corresponding with his misplaced anger, flickered into life on his forehead.

With renewed vigor, Tsuna tightened his leather gloves into a fist and punched the living daylights out of his previous attacker, whose eyes were almost bulging out of their socket.

Tsuna's "doppelganger" smirked a little when felt a twinge of satisfaction coursed though him. But when he threw a quick look to his surrounding; he could feel his other self flinching. The whole scene in front of them had frozen – it was as if someone had hit the pause button on the DVD player of life. But instead of being forced into stopping at mid-swings and epic moments between life and death, every single eye was focused onto him with a look mixed between horror and awe.

The future Godfather deadpanned. It seemed that they had just brought a new meaning to the phrase "neon target on forehead".

* * *

**Q&A**

**Q: I thought reborn said that Asari never owned a sword himself?**

A: Really? … LOL! But if he never owned one…. He would be a genius to be able to used one so well…. :/ Well… I hope you can bare with the erm… slightly alteration to main story? I didn't notice that….

**Q: Did Tsuna get swept away to some far away place and met Asari or did he end up in the same place and met Asari?**

A: Nope, he got swept away, but not too far… A few kilometers off coast… And just happen that a passing ship came along and picked him up.

**Q: I thought Rampo was a coward…**

A: I think that was the perspective based on the Anime… But I felt that if he was really a coward… He would not join the mafia would he? Oh wait… Tsuna is one… Hmm… I wanted to make each guardian a "leader" of some sorts… to have a more influential in society I guess….

**Q: Is Cozart coming in?**

A: Perhaps? But I don't think so…. He comes after Vongola was found….

**Q: Time Period?**

A: My beta and I had a discussion on this on the earlier chapters…. Black Death did appear in history after the first appearance and stuff… I apologize for any inconsistency with the timeline though… I screwed it up quite a bit… :P

* * *

**A/N:**

Thank you amazing reviewers (I did read everything even though I did not reply! I swear! :D)! I can't believe I hit the 100-review point! Do continue to review cause it is really what keep me writing. I honestly wanted to give this up at one point but the thought of having so many readers inspired me to type more. Once again, thank you and sorry for the long wait. I hope you will continue to drop me reviews on what you think or any errors and improvements that could be done.

_P.S: Thank the Beta: GracefulSunshine too!_ Ciao~tsu!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The combatants in the battlefield who had originally opened their mouth wide for cries of victory stopped short in gaping silence, for one of the participant's forehead was now alighted in an unorthodox orange flame.

"Witch," a burly man finally whispered fearfully, breaking the span of silence that had crept upon the arena. The effect it had was almost instantaneous. A faction of the crowd began to draw away nervously, with the rest murmuring in low voices that echoed around the courtyard.

"Witch-"

"-he's possessed-"

"-what do we do?-"

"Get a priest!"

"Burn him!"

_Oh__no__… __oh__no__no__no__…_ Tsuna eyes went wide in horror at the comments when he realized that the confused undertones soon became malicious, threatening to drown, maim, stone or burn him alive. He had seen this situation several times in movies and it had never bided well for that character. Gulping nervously, his eyes flickered to the direction where he presumed his friends were.

_Where__did__they__go?_ Tsuna thought desperately, scanning the advancing crowd whilst hastily retreating.

Should he flee? Or wait for them? Should he…. A shadow reached out behind him to grab the inattentive teen around the neck. Relishing his hold over his panicking thoughts to his dying will, Tsuna felt himself kick the ground hard and surging back into a perfect arc behind his surprised opponent.

Almost immediately, he swung his fist forward with every intention to take out the man and managed to stop himself just inches from Giotto's face.

"Giotto…!"

His guardian wryly laughed, staring at the entity that had nearly took out his front teeth.

"Ooo, that was close…" whistled G., impressed at Tsuna's control as he appeared abruptly beside them, causing the boy to reel back in shock.

_How did they even manage to creep up on me?_

The older teen was covered with dirt and specks of blood, which did not seemed to be his, and was suspiciously happy for some unspoken reason which Tsuna didn't want to know.

Asari, who not too far behind the redhead, cleared his throat good-naturedly, "I think this is time to… how to do say that again…'Beat it'?"

Unlike G, the musician did not seemed to have gotten away unscathed and was holding on to a broken sword while limping a little as he joined the obviously outnumbered group.

G snorted. "Beat it? I would say scram"-he gave the rest a meaningful look-" NOW."

In a flash, the four drenched teens fled the scene, barely leaping over the large wall behind them. They hightailed down the alleyway and soon hit a crossroad.

G skied to a halt and looked apprehensively at the different paths. "To where? The base is too far away…"

Tsuna ran past the man and turned sharply to the left. "Come on! They're coming!"

The thief lord pivoted, shielding his eyes from the heavy downpour, and sure enough, a tsunami of men was just piling around the corner behind them. Racing after his comrades, he shook him head at the obscurity of this familiar state of affair.

"Do you even know where you are going?" Giotto yelled at the foreman. "We could be heading to a dead-end!"

"No," Tsuna calmly replied. "but trust me."

"WHATTT!" the incredulous trio's footsteps faltered a little before evening out again. But nevertheless, they splashed after him loyally a few seconds later.

Tsuna sighed in relief that they still held their blind trust in him despite their misgivings from his previous stunt. He was depending fully on his hyper intuition to guide them and honestly hoped that was in perfect working condition. No matter have infuriating they were, they certainly did not want to have to deal with a bunch of terrorizing nobles.

But unlike the previous time, unfortunately, in this round of a "Tom & Jerry's chase", the aristocrats' guards were extremely persistent. If the Vongola Decimo was to make a guess, he was certain it could not be helped since they had practically just wrecked the party of the most influential man in town and not to mention apparently just stamped the word 'heretic' on his own face.

During their escape, it was purely by his institution that got them pass at least three traps and four tight spots. But at the same time, it was also the fault of this ability of his that they had ended up jumping in a canal in this miserable weather and were wading through a knee high level of mud.

The constant sound of the rushing water echoed between the walls and as the group moved further down the tunnel, the shouts and threats of their pursuers diminished, but so did the light. Soon, the only source was from the dying will flames on Tsuna's hands and forehead.

But by this point, it had nearly been three hours since the fight and the said boy was exhausted. He slumped against the wall; ignoring the worried glance his grimy and fatigued companions gave him, wondering how much longer he could hold on to this condition.

Never in his life had had held on to this dying-will state, without rest, for such a prolonged period. The flames on his forehead mirrored his thoughts and paled.

"No…don't you dare," he whispered wearily, summoning up his will power again as he pushed himself forward and continued guiding the ragtag team.

"Just a little more," the burnet muttered, more to himself them to his friends. He could not even retaliate when felt someone grabbed his left arm and prop him up.

"Come on, little bro, don't give up yet."

Giotto was hardly in any condition to support Tsuna, but persisted upon steadying the swaying physique and earned a wobbly, but regardless, grateful smile.

Tsuna looked at his own feet dizzily and felt the incoming bout of tears sting his eyes. But he refused to let those tears fall.

_Not now. Not now. There's no time to do that right now. _

Finally, unable to withstand the conflicting emotions any longer, he decided to ask them a question, "Why do all of you still trust me…?" he paused and then continued in a small voice. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

Giotto blinked in surprise, before licking his parched lips and grinning. He could hear his best friend stifling a laugh with a grunt behind him.

"Am I supposed to, Mr. Protector?"

He could barely hold on to his laughter when the burnet froze and giving him a clear view of his stupefied expression on his face but panicked when the only light source they had flickered dangerously low.

"Tsuna!" the three older teens yelled in sync and the boy barely caught himself before focusing all his attention back to his dying will.

An audible sigh was heard when the glow steadied. None of them was keen on being stuck in this dark tunnel, which they could not make head or tails of where the exits were, without a light after all.

"You remembered…?"

"Maybe, you can tell us about it later," Asari coughed nervously. "Just focus on holding…whatever you call that fire, okay?"

"You better," G remarked dryly, hoisting his other arm around his neck. The others nodded quickly in agreement. For now, just his honesty would suffice.

Giotto nudged the boy a little, asking, "Which way?"

"Right."

As they continued on, time passed slowly, only allowing the faintest amount of moonlight to seep through the cracks and without Tsuna's directions, they would not only be in the dark but utterly lost in the labyrinth of tunnels. Lapsing back to a comfortable silence, the four tired boys stumbled on, trudging through the sludge; desperate to get out of the hellhole they were in.

Then, when a pin of light emerged at the end, the older males surged forward, with newfound hope and strength, partially dragging the nearly unconscious boy with them.

They had finally gotten out of the bloody place.

* * *

Knuckle looked up from his prayer in confusion when he heard a knock and wondered if he was simply hearing things. He had not been expecting any visitors in the middle of this quiet night. The children had all fallen sound asleep and Sister Velia and Gabriella were back in their quarters, most likely to be in slumber too.

It was only due a fitful doze earlier, he had woken up sweating for the second time that week and found himself praying, being unable to rid the visions that had continued to haunt him ever since that fateful day.

_The boy had been young. So young, hardly out of his boyhood._

The child had been an orphan, he recalled, simply trying to get enough money to send his younger siblings to school. Then, the dream went on, and he saw the once twinkling eyes hallow and unforgiving, staring blankly at him.

_The punch had been meant for his jaw. _

A simple and clean uppercut. One that was just enough knock him out and end the prolonged match. But the boy was inexperienced, attempting to evade the impending attack in the wrong direction and gotten hit on the nose. The hefty impact had then broken the bone and sent a piece of it flying straight into his brain.

_It killed him instantly._

"It was an accident," they told him in the hospital. "An unfortunate accident."

But the sentence had no significance to him. No matter the reason, he had killed someone. He had just taken away the boy's future.

The tragedy had continued gnawed upon his conscientious for months despite the uncountable number of times his manager tried to convince him that it was a mishap. And finally, when the raven hair man had went to sought redemption from his victim's kin on his knees; the oldest of the three children shook her head and gave him a heart-breaking smile.

"No," she told him with a trembling voice. "Brother knew that there was a high chance that this would have had happen. But he wanted to send us to school, you see. The fastest way had been that job…"

At that point, the small boy standing who was standing behind her bawled and clung on to the young girl's dress. A few seconds later, his twin followed his deed, wailing and tugging on to her sister garment.

Unable to contain her grief any longer, the girl scooped up her two younger siblings and buried her face onto their shoulders. Her breath hitched and her small frame shook violently with each sob that she gave.

"I'm so sorry!" The boxer had cried slamming his head onto the ground again and again. "I'm so sorry!" Even if the children may have forgiven him, he could never forgive himself of it.

_It was his sin. _

And shortly after the meeting, Knuckle decided to seek advice from a church and decided to swear in front of the altar to never to box again.

True to his word, in the following month, he gave up his entire career and joined the priesthood. He also worked hard in order to set up a small orphanage in the church where he adopted the siblings, alongside with a number of homeless children, providing them with food, shelter and the education their deceased brother had so greatly desired for them.

It was only recently that he had grown used the drastic change in lifestyle and was starting to enjoy the peaceful life that the place had provided.

As if to prove it wasn't his hallucination, another set of knocks resounded, and this time it was louder then before, snapping the man out of his thoughts. The ex-boxer hurried to the door in confusion, wondering what was the ruckus about and realized the pounding on the door was accompanied by a frantic yell.

"Excuse me! Is there anyone in there?"

He lifted the bolt and was greeted by the sight of four teenagers covered with mud.

"Thank God!" the blond one, who had obviously been knocking, sighed in relief when he had swung open the heavy gate. "My friend needs a little help," he tiredly nodded with a tilt of his head to the youngest of the lot, who was slumped on the back of a red-haired boy.

"Is his alright?" Knuckle fretted at the sight in alarm, jumping forward to help them carry the unconscious boy in.

"I think so," the last boy in a weird attire muttered wearily bowing his thanks at the priest. "He just fainted."

Knuckle carefully scrutinized the state each of the boys was in before helping them to clean up their wounds and dressing them in fresh clothes. When he was done putting away the first aid kit, two of them had already fallen flat on their beds and were snoring loudly.

He turned to the remaining teenager, who he presumed was waiting for him, with a gentle smile. "Rest, we'll talk tomorrow."

The blond was barely awake, but returned the gesture. "Thank you, Father," he slurred sleepily. "We're in your debt."

Within seconds, he joined his friends and curled up on the bed. The priest chuckled quietly as he tucked the boy in and left them deep into a dreamless slumber.

Knuckle closed the door softly. He could see that they had obviously been in a fight. And it was his experience that warned him that these were no ordinary boys who had gotten caught up in a street brawl.

These were seasoned fighters.

Rubbing his temples, he wondered what had he just signed up for.

* * *

**It's Question Time!**

**Q. Why wouldn't Cozart showed up? Why aren't you including him?**

A. This story was planned before the Shimon Arc, so I didn't involve him. I was considering adding Elena in, for the sake of Deamon, since she could help facilitate the flow. But as Cozart's appearance would change a lot, I probably would leave him out. Sorry!

**Q. Only a few people can see the Dying Will right?**

A. Hmm… I have no idea if normal people could see it or not. Let's just say that in my story, I will have everyone get to see it okay?

**Q. Wrong time line, Black Death have already been gone, No more witch hunt… etc**

A. DDD: *Author frowns and check wiki. Blinks, scratch head and thinks for 10 seconds* Can I make this an AU now?

**Q. Doppelgänger? You mean the HDW side of Tsuna? Does this Tsuna has split personality?**

A. Nope, no 72 here unfortunately. Yes, HDW of Tsuna. Like how Naruto's Sakura (if I remember correctly), gets an "inner" and "outer" personality.

* * *

**A/N**

Hi guys, it's been a while. Thank you for all who had reviewed, fav and read this story. You guys deserve a hug!(づ￣ ³￣)づ

As mentioned earlier in the previous chapters, I will not be a constant updater unless I get time and is inspired to write. But, your reviews are like guilt trips to start… So, they are indeed really valuable! I would also like to encourage readers to tell me how you like or dislike the flow, the writing style and such for improvement.

Once again, thanks for your support guys!

_This is Beta-ed by our wonderful Graceful Sunshine_

**in·to**: Expressing movement or action with the result that someone or something becomes enclosed or surrounded by something else

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	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"How long is the kid gonna sleep?"

"G, leave the boy alone. He looks really uncomfortable there with you continuously poking him." Mischievous golden eyes glinted in amusement at the other. "I didn't know you were so worried. I thought you were the one who told me to not get too attached in the first place?"

"W-well, he has been asleep for two freaking days!" the red head muttered defensively, turning an interesting shade of red as he finally left the unconscious teen alone. "W-wouldn't want him to die on my watch. It…it gives me a bad reputation."

Giotto snickered. No matter what G said, he was a huge softie on the inside, often going out of the way to take care of his young charge. His expression softened a little when his eyes fell on Tsuna. Silently, he sat on the edge of the bed and patted the teen's head slowly.

"Hey, G."

"Hmm?"

"Was it my fault?"

G looked at him confusedly at the unusual question. "What is?"

"He could have died," Giotto whispered painfully, recalling the different incidents. "In the sea, in the fight…If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't be there. I-I was nearly unable to protect someone important to me again."

Without a second thought, G went behind Giotto and effectively stunned him with a smack to the back of his head.

"OUCH! What was that for?" Giotto hissed, rubbing furiously over the sore spot.

"For being an idiot," the other supplied instantly. "'Cause you knew it was an accident. A fucking-ly unfortunate one, but an accident nonetheless, You have no reason to mope." He crossed his arms, a brow twitching in annoyance. "If you were at fault, so was I." G reminded as an after thought.

"Still," Giotto grumbled defensively. "There was no need to _hit_ me!"

G shrugged nonchalantly. "I felt like doing it it."

Giotto cursed under his breath for a little longer before leaning back on his seat. Despite his grumblings, he would never tell G how grateful he was to have his best friend grounding him back to reality.

"Stop worrying. He can take care of himself. Hasn't he proven it?"

"Yeah, I know."

Two pair of eyes turned their attention back to the boy.

It was a little odd how the boy who had struggled and fought so hard to bring them to safety, looked so tiny and vulnerable now. Slowly, Giotto picked up a limp arm and studied it. Despite the deceptively thin form, he could feel the structure of well-defined muscles that was normally hidden under baggy clothes. His palms were covered with uncountable calluses that told the tale of signs of years of training and effort and when Giotto lifted the arms a little higher, he frowned at the sight.

An arm littered with a ridiculous amount of barely visible scars in which a normal person would barely have gotten half of those in a life span lay exposed to the onlookers. All of those had been healed and snitched up but it looked immensely out of place on the pale skin of a young boy.

G looked over his shoulder disapprovingly. "Abuse?"

"No," his friend shook his head. "Some perhaps, not all. Look at his one. That's a knife wound, but it's too thin and clean cut for normal one." Pointing at another scar on the back of Tsuna's palm, "That's look like a burn, doesn't it?"

Nodding in agreement, G shifted his attention to a small circular wound and gently touched it. "Gunshot," the thief lord breathed. "What has Tsuna been though?"

"Even without our crazy interference in his life, it seems that…" Giotto trailed off.

The door creaked open. "Father Knuckle was asking for both of you." Asari hesitated in confusion at the tense atmosphere. "Did something happen?"

Giotto sighed heavily and tucked the brunet back under the thin blanket. One mystery seemed just to lead to another.

"No," G said, smiling rather forcefully. "Nothing at all. Did the Father want us for something?"

The raven-haired male gave him a curious look. "He wanted you both down for breakfast. And I think you've gotten a letter from a friend. I hope this doesn't sound weird, but the pigeon was green."

"…"

"Must be Rambo. Only he would do something stupid like that."

"The little twerp will be fine. His family will fish him out of any shit."

Giotto laughed as he followed Asari out of the room. "You're pretty fond of him as well, aren't you?"

"W-what… No, I'm not!" G snapped at the knowing looks his companions were giving him.

Before the trio could take a couple of steps out of the door, excited squeals of children tackled them.

"Brother Giotto! Carry me!" A small girl tugged on his sleeve.

"There's eggs for breakfast!"

"Will you play with me later, Ahh-sar-reee?"

"G is making weird faces again!" A boy pointed wildly at the said man, causing Asari to laugh at the enthusiasm.

"Children, children, if you don't get down soon, the big bad wolves are going to eat up all your food!" Giotto teased the group as he made a dash for the dining room. The children squealed in delight at the game and gave chase to catch the running teen.

"They had gotten really attached to him these couple of days," Asari commented fondly at the sight as he strolled leisurely behind the group. "It's almost as if they have a new older brother."

"He seems more like a kid." G snorted absentmindedly, causing the taller man to laugh. "Anyway, what about you? Don't you need to go back to your…"

_CRASH. _

"WHY WON'T YOU COME BACK?" A loud roar echoed down the hallway, followed by another tinkle of broken glass.

G and Asari jumped in surprise. They exchanged anxious looks as they ran after Giotto and the children, but the two men soon paused, noticing the small crowd was outside the kitchen.

Giotto, who was nearest to the door, placed a comforting arm around a small trembling boy. The rest of the children were pale and were huddled behind the adults. Curious, the duo peered into the kitchen, only to see a well-dressed man yelling at the agitated Priest. Knuckle was slumped on the table with his face buried in his hands.

"The scary man often come here and yells at Father," a freckled girl with pigtails whispered nervously as she watched the scene. She bit her lip and was almost in tears when G placed a rough hand on her head before slipping into the room.

Asari gave a small reassuring smile and followed the redhead while Giotto turned to the group and told them brightly, "Wait here for a bit, alright? We'll be right back." Then, he left them in the capable hands of the Sisters before too slinking in after G and Asari.

The furious man did not notice the additional presences behind him and was about to make a grab for the Knuckle when Giotto stepped in to interfere.

"Don't try," G growled in warning.

The man gave him a suspicious look. "Who are you?"

"That's none of your concern."

Suddenly noticing he was outnumbered, man gave a disapproving grunt and jerked his wrist out of the teen's grip with an unsatisfied look.

"Don't think this is over, I will back off for now, but" -the manager gave the group a venomous glare- "I will be back to talk about this."

"I…I can't. Morris, I can't!" Father Knuckle's voice was strained and muffled.

Morris smirked triumphantly. "You still do if you have to think about the brat's debts you decided picked up like an idiot."

The man turn to leave, throwing the children who stood at the door a look of contempt as he roughly pushed them aside, blundering his way to the exit.

Asari gasped and immediately started comforting a bawling child. Seething with anger, Giotto took a step with every intention to run after Morris but stopped when Knuckle shot him a pleading look.

"Please," the priest quietly begged. "Please don't interfere anymore. I really don't want to get you involved in this."

He turned to leave, leaving a heavy silence behind.

* * *

It was late in the evening when the trouble they all had expected started brewing.

Two panicking Sisters burst abruptly into the guest room. The trio, whose hands had immediately reached out for their respective weapons, relaxed a little when they saw whom it was.

"Father," panted Sister Gabriella. "Father went after them!"

Asari stood up calmly and led the two women into the room with a reassuring smile. Gently, he led them to a couple of empty stools. "Calm down and tell us what happened."

Sister Velia nodded nervously and took a deep breath. "They took Lisa! They came and said something about her brother and then took her! Father…Father just took off after them when he heard that!"

Giotto grimaced. "Shit, that was earlier then we anticipated."

"An-anticipated?" Sister Gabriella asked in confusion.

The blond nodded. "We all agreed that that the man might do something drastic soon from his desperate attitude earlier on."

Sister Velia's eyes grew wide with distress as she covered her mouth. "Oh Lord! Y-you _knew_?"

"Well," interrupted G from the corner of the room. He sniffed, scowling. "We have met lots of people like this. At first they would ask, then beg, and then get desperate before finally snapping."

"Scums are all the same," he added, earning a snort from Giotto and blank looks from the three others who did not understand what exactly he was referring to.

Giotto shook his head and gave a loud clap to return their attention to their main concern. "Putting that aside," the teen emphasized. "We expected this."

"What-what should w-we do t-then?" Sister Gabriella was determined not to panic in this situation.

The three men straightened up, allowing the women to catch a weird glint flashing in their eyes, accompanied with an unnatural fox like smirk.

"_Leave it to us_" was their final words before they took off, leaving the two Sisters alone with a soundly sleeping Tsuna in the room. Both of them stared blankly at the closed door and suddenly wondered it was the correct decision to approach these men for help.

* * *

"…at the Cains' underground ring, sire," the messenger muttered, shifting uncomfortably, and when thief lord nodded and waved a hand in dismissal, the younger boy nodded gratefully and disappeared back into the shadows.

Stuffing out the last bit of his cigarette, G signaled for Giotto, who was leaning across him on the other end of the alleyway.

"Let's go," G muttered. "We've got a location."

His friend nodded and fell in step beside him. "How bad is it?"

"It's at Cain's ring," he grouched in reply. "The one we've kept a watch out for months already. I guess we just need to push our schedule for getting that territory up ahead."

G sighed heavily.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I could do it alone. You do have your," Giotto motioned his arms at the other. "Status to think of."

G gave him a cynical look. "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth. You reap what you sow, you pay what you owe." he reminded his companion of their philosophy. "That's the law of my court. We owe the priest, so we must pay the debt or our scales will tip to an unfavorable count for me one day."

"You just rather have people owing you then the other way round," Giotto teased as they made their way to the ring.

"What do I say?" G asked airily. "It's better than the other way around."

* * *

The underground boxing ring was hidden in one of the numerous warehouses under the guise of a merchant trading post. A closer look would tell a different story. Guards that were unnecessary for a simple trading post were stationed at each entrance. Yells, cheers and screams occasionally echoed from with within the compound.

It was a decent place. _At least for an underground fight club._

As the two men headed towards the dimly lit doors, one of the guards noticed who they were and stiffly nudged his partner. The bulky man took one look at them before slipping through to get the owner.

By the time they reached the door, Calvino, a disgusting fat man, followed by another cocky male the duo recognized as Morris, the manager, had appeared. Morris paled at the sight and whispered urgently into Calvino's ear. Calvino narrowed his eyes for a split second before nodding in understanding, shooing Morris with a wave.

Clapping his oversized hands, the man turned to face his guests. "What graces the lord at our doorstep?" He asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

G grinned politely, flicking a lighter out to light a smoke. "Ah, I just suddenly had an urge to watch a good fight and decided to drop by."

"All the way across the town?" Calvino inquired suspiciously.

Giotto laughed. "We happened to be visiting a friend nearby. Is there something wrong that we can't come in to take a look?"

Now, the owner wasn't an idiot and grimaced at the double-edged question. If he said no, he had to allow the men through. If he said yes, it was disrespect to the thief lord who no one wanted to anger.

"… no, sire." Calvino gritted his teeth in frustration at the forked decision. "I'll prepare a prime seat."

"REX," he snapped at one of the bouncers. "Take them in."

The muscular man bowed and stepped forward to lead them in. As they followed the bouncer, the slight tang of blood tickled their nose and G hummed in anticipation.

They were then led to a flight of stairs that brought the group to a small balcony with the best view right above the edge of the fighting ring. The sight of countless swarm of people fighting to get a better glimpse of the ring beneath greeted them. From their seats, they could almost immediately spot the priest, who stood out like a sore thumb amidst the mob in his church robes. He was arguing a losing battle with a few other men and had a defeated look etched on his face.

Giotto nodded. _No one would notice them here. _

"Leave us," G commanded the bouncer.

Rex looked uncomfortable at that instruction, but an order was an order. With a final bow, the bulky man left G and Giotto to their own devices.

Giotto gestured impishly towards G, grinning. _It was time._

* * *

It was finally his turn, but Knuckle stood firm on his ground, refusing to give in to his natural instinct to defend. He refused to punch, but he refused to fall as well. Even with the continuous pounding of his opponent, his ringing ears, he smoldered his urge and didn't throw a single punch.

The crowd jeered at the one-sided fight.

_I wouldn't, I can't!_ Images of the dead boy flashed before him when a familiar scream reached him.

Knuckles felt his blood ran cold.

_NO!_ He swerved, horrified to see what he had feared the most. His ex-manager, Morris, was dragging Liza out from her hair and the young girl was crying pitifully in pain. The man ignored her and twisted her wrist.

"Fight, you damn fool!" he snarled at the hesitating Knuckle. "I've bet a large sum on your head! Fight or I'll break her arms!"

"I..," Knuckle looked desperately at the child and then back at his confused opponent. _What should he do?_ He flexed his fingers a little. He could…

"WAIT!"

Knuckle gaped when a familiar blond stepped up between him and his opponent.

"Giotto…? What are you doing here-"

"Stop!" The teenager yelled again at Morris, promptly ignoring the priest. "I will fight in his place if you let the girl go."

Knuckle grabbed his shoulders and forcefully turned him around. "Giotto, what are you doing?" he asked urgently. "How did you get in here?"

Giotto smiled at the misplaced concern. Lowering his voice, he leaned closer to the older man's ear. "It's fine, father. Trust me. No, trust _us_. Everything will be fine."

Knuckle only blinked in confusion.

"You?" Morris sneered. "What can a scrawny kid like you do?"

Giotto laughed. "You should not underestimate me."

The man gave him a skeptical look, but finally agreed. "Fine! But if you lose, this girl," he jerked Liza towards him, "is going to pay dearly for it."

"Liza!"

"Are you sure about this?" Knuckle whispered desperately, watching the weeping girl struggle against the harsh grip. "I…I can still fight…"

"Knuckle."

The priest stared at Giotto in surprise. It was the first time the teenager had called him directly without his title.

"Knuckle," Giotto repeated softly but firmly. "Trust us."

Knuckle knew he should not agree but he could not stop himself from giving the Giotto a small nod.

"Thank you," Giotto said simply as he turned back to his opponent.

The boxer who stood on the opposing end was a muscular man with sharp, bright eyes. He eyed Giotto before bursting into laughter.

"Go home, little boy," the man taunted, stretching his arms. "Go back to yer mama."

"Are you afraid this little boy might win?"

The man grinned, disregarding the mocking tone. It was normal for fighters to insult each other in the ring, but it was only the inexperienced that got pulled in to the pace. The fighter pulled his fist back to its starting pose. "As you wish, boy…"

Giotto tilted his head towards the referee, who then rang the bell, signaling the start of the fight.

Almost instantly, his opponent was in front of him, lashing out small jabs at an inhumane rate. If it had been anyone else, they would have been taken down, but years of training footwork with G. was paying off as he ducked and dodged the punches.

Giotto gave a small whistle. This man was good. He found himself flinching when a particularly nasty hit caught his rib. Instinctively, his body counter-attacked, grazing the edge on the boxer's shin.

The older man leapt back in surprise and broke into a wide grin. "Yer better then I thought."

Giotto could not help it, but he was beginning to enjoy himself. "You too," he admitted unwillingly.

Impressed, the man pounded his fists together. "Name's Alfieri. What's yer name, boy?"

Before Giotto could reply, his fellow contester suddenly slumped forward, surprising everyone. Giotto lifted a brow, baffled at the situation. He cautiously took a step forward toward the boxer. "Are you alri-," his eyes widen when his intuition complied him jump back towards the edge of the ring.

_Something felt wrong, very wrong._

Alfieri slowly stood up in a jerky matter and Giotto gasped, unnerved by the look in his bloodshot eyes. No longer were they sharp and bright like it was moments ago. They were glazed, almost carrying a hypnotized look. Without warning, the boxer lunged at Giotto, hurling the teen and pinning the struggling body on the ground.

A wave of unease murmurs ran though the crowd and Knuckle worriedly drew a cross over his chest in a prayer to dispel whatever evil had possessed the man.

Giotto screamed in pain, when his head hit the ground with a resounding crack.

_Something was wrong, _his intuition sang_. Run!_

He brought a knee up and slammed into his crazed attacker's stomach. Alfieri was effectively flung back, allowing the dazed blond to regain his balance, shaking his head to clear the after-image of the shockwave that had ran across his mind.

When Giotto looked up, he could only gulp as Alfieri stood up shakily despite the obviously broken ribs_. _

_Does he feel no pain?_

Unable to avert his gaze from the injured fighter, Giotto felt something in his mind clicked in comprehension. The style, the speed of the man…all of those were too different now! Although he did not understand why, but somehow, he knew this was not the same man he was fighting a while back.

_Someone possessed him_, his gut feeling supplied helpfully again. Giotto wiped the blood that was starting to drip from the cut above his right eye down his face as he narrowly dived away from another suicide assault at a rapid speed.

"DON'T YOU DARE TO LOSE!" He could hear Morris roaring in anger when he received another kick on his arms. "I DON'T CARE HOW, WIN!"

"That's right," Giotto thought grimly. "Crazed, possessed or whatever, I can't lose."

It didn't matter to Morris if the other guy in the ring was a devil or demon. All that man could care about was his money and it was a child that was at stake.

The thought seemed to unintentionally fortify a barrier in Giotto's heart and with that, a burst of new-founded strength flooded to every part of his body.

_He had to win no matter what._

To him, it was as if world suddenly decided to slow down in front of his eyes.

_He needed to protect them._

A nostalgic burning sensation started to course within his veins but intuition told him everything was going to be fine.

_When did he felt like this again?_

Memories flashback for a second and his brow knitted in confusion before it cleared. This feeling was exactly the like the time Sallust destroyed his life!

Pure energy and a sense of calmness washed over his mind and the blond slowly opened his eyes he had unwittingly closed. Knuckle inhaled the stale air sharply. Giotto's eyes were almost _glowing _and a bright orange flame flickered on his forehead.

Despite the obvious change, the crazed Alfieri did not seemed to notice the difference and once again charged towards the unsuspecting teenager.

"NO!" Knuckle hollered, half clambering up the stage to stop the fight. But before he was even able to get in the ring, Giotto was already behind the boxer and had lightly tapped the back of the man's neck, rendering Alfieri unconscious.

Knuckle goggled at the scene.

_How in the world did Giotto moved that fast? _

A few audiences looked at each other uncertainly but a few started clapping slowly when they finally became conscious of fact that the fight was over. Soon, the whole horde of onlookers were applauding and screaming with excitement. To them what happened on the stage was a little a little strange, but they had all agreed unanimously that was breathtaking. It was the fight well worth a watch.

Giotto stood expressionlessly in the middle of the ring, watching his unconscious opponent. Looking up, he found himself glowering at a bemused Morris.

"Kill him!" Morris demanded. In the underground ring, the rules were a death match. An unconscious boxer meant nothing to him.

"No."

The manager frowned. "Kill him."

"No." Giotto insisted, intensifying his glare.

Morris threw him a disgusted look. "You are just like the bloody priest, but it doesn't matter anymore." The man threw his head back and cackled. "If you think this girl is the only thing you will lose, you are dead wrong."

He chortled at the horrified look on the Knuckle's face.

"NO! You promised!"

"Oh, did I?" Morris gloated cruelly. "I promised the girl would be safe, but nothing else. My men will destroy your church and you will have no choice but to beg me for help."

"NO," Knuckle growled again as he scampered toward his nemesis. "HOW DARE YOU, BASTARD!"

Yet, before he could reach destination, raven-haired male felt someone forcefully retraining his arms.

"Let me go!" Knuckle hissed at his captor.

Giotto had latched onto his arms tightly as he shot Morris an amused look. "Didn't I tell you a moment ago not to underestimate us?"

Both the men paused, uncertain what Giotto meant.

Giotto doubled up laughing. "Did you really think we did not anticipate this?" He smirked at the Morris when a shadow appeared behind the pale man.

* * *

Asari stood up and dusted himself, looking at the sword in his hands. It wasn't as good as his favored katana, but it would work nevertheless. He swung it around, disarming the two men behind him.

"Mah, that's not too nice of you." Asari chided them in a heavy accent as if they were children. "A samurai must always attack honorably."

He smiled in relief when both the attackers retreated. There was no need to kill those who gave up. After all, discouraging them had the same intended result.

The Japanese sighed. These two had already made up thirteen assailants he had "discouraged". He was forced to mime two of them. He hoped another two he had been forced to seriously injure were still alive.

Looking up at the looming dark clouds, Asari leaned against a pillar. His two companions certainly had great foresight to have predicted this and left the area in his care.

Although he had been a tad bit put out when they requested that he stay behind, he had been tasked to fend off attackers at the church while the two Italians went after the Father during the planning.

_It was amazing that they have predicted to this point_, Asari mused. _I have really met up with a group of extraordinary people, haven't I?_

He turned and gave the courtyard a last look before heading back to the church as the first raindrop hit the earth.

* * *

G snorted, causing Morris to jump in fright and accidently releasing Lisa. She dived into Knuckle's arms while sobbing pitifully.

The priest protectively wrapped his arms around his charge and pulled her behind him.

"You look like shit," G told his best friend.

Giotto winced. "I assure you that I feel no better than I look."

"How dare you," Morris interrupted, eyes burning with fury. "YOU RUINED EVERYTHING."

With a precise kick, G pinned the howling man onto the wall and leaned towards Morris's ear. "Everything?" he hissed. "No, not yet."

The red-hair drew out a stack of paper from the back of his pockets and waved it in front of Morris's face. The man blanched in recognition as he ogled at the papers.

"How did you…."

G sniggered at Morris's expression.

"H-how did y-you get them? Please, no-!"Morris reached out to grab the papers but to his horror, G flung it over the railing, causing it to flutter amidst the crowd.

"NO!" Morris shrieked, his knees quaking with terror at the sound of indignation and outrage spreading through the mass. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

"Me?" G asked innocently, he eyes hardening as he continued. "I was just giving everyone proof of all the setup matches, murder, betrayal, and slavery you fucking filthy scumbag committed." He spat at the wretched man's face and twirl a ring of keys around.

Morris whimpered, looking desperately around for any help. There was none to be found.

Giotto coughed a little as he leaned against the railing. Tilting his head, he flashed the man a smirk. "Didn't anyone tell you?"

Morris felt a shiver run down his spine when the teen, no, demon, took a step forward. "Never cross our thief lord."

"Thief lord?" Morris and Knuckle whispered at the same time, realizing who the redhead teenager in front of them was.

"You reap what you sow, you pay what you owe." G sung darkly, stabbing a dagger a few inches off the man's face for a good measure. Turning to leave this god-forsaken place, G noticed something dark began to spread between Morris's legs onto the ground and sniggered.

"OH!" G abruptly swiveled back and gave the Morris a mock bow. "And thanks for the kind donation you made the church! May god bless you!"

Giotto wobbled a little as the four of them finally made their way out and headed back to the church while Knuckle carried the traumatized but sleeping child on his back.

"Why did you help me?" Knuckle finally broke the silence that had encased the trio.

G looked thoughtful for a moment. "I hate people who make use of children to do their dirty business." He answered honestly. "And also," G and Giotto exchanged grins. "That's what friends are for!"

Knuckle gave both of them an incredulous look.

"Even when you are the thief lord?"

"Even when I am the thief lord."

Knuckle looked flabbergasted, mouthing indecipherable words before roaring with laughter. "Yes," he chuckled, wiping several tears away. "That's what friends are for."

* * *

Calvino leaned against the wall and cursed furiously. Not only did the bullet that did not work, the darn thief had forced his whole establishment to close down!

A sigh echoed behind him and he spun back in fear to see Sallust's two subordinates. He face grew red in anger and he spat onto the ground.

"This darn bullet did not work!" He snarled at the Afro-haired male. "The boy still lived!" Calvino then stamped his feet to emphasize his point. "And fuck him! He destroyed a lifetime's worth of work!"

The man gave ignored him and expressionlessly popped a candy in his mouth. Outraged, Calvino reached for his gun but before he could reach it, a gunshot resounded and the fat man fell flat on his face, dead.

"I didn't expect the dying will to manifest at this stage, dear," the woman told her companion, tucking her pistol back beneath her Zebra patterned top. "It seems like we need to change our plan a little." She hugged the man tightly. "But it doesn't matter if he has it or if the Decimo is here. We will get back what was ours after all," she whispered seductively, missing the slight look of apprehension on the man's face.

The man's face softened a little and returned the hug. "Yes, we will."

* * *

**A/N: Hello people! Here's your long awaited chapter 10! I'm so thankful to graceful sunshine for beta-ing even when she's busy with other stuff. (´∀｀) **

**For those of you who had been following this from the start, I'm so sorry for the long wait! (シ_ _)シ Although I did mention that my updates are irregular, I know this was a really long time since the last update. Not trying to give an excuse but it's really getting very difficult to write this somehow, even though I had gotten the gist of the story in my head. **ლ(́◉◞౪◟◉‵ლ) **The plot kept shifting about and it just did not feel correct to me... **

**Anyway, thank you for reading and please, please tell me what you thing and how do you like/hate the story and flow. See the box down here?** o｡. (✿ฺ｡ ✿ฺ) **Just type it up and click review!**


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